Pitch's Old Comrade
by xkeyblademasterx.tumblr
Summary: Jack finds a surprise in the forest of Norway, on his way to clean up a few Nightmares left over from the battle with Pitch two years previous. Instead, someone else already annihilated them and Jack finds Bunny following that person. Jack finds he doesn't know everything about Pitch and there are more wounds left open than he knew (phsyic. and mental torture later) R and R please!
1. Chapter 1

(this is the beginning of the real FanFic, part one of a bigger story. Chapter 1)

Jack wandered through the Norwegian forest, swinging his staff around and knocking snow off the branches overhead, sighing overdramatically. A guardian of fun wasn't meant to be part of clean-up duty. Why couldn't Sandy clear up the left over Nightmares? Jack had better things to do, like wreak snowy havoc in a highly populated area. _I hate being the newbie,_ He thought bitterly. Well, there wasn't any use griping about it, and immature as Jack could be, he knew it. Jack pushed his staff on the ground, flew up into the tree, and landed on the branch lowest to the ground. Sure enough, the Nightmares came trotting under the tree, snorting and wandering around. They seemed almost without purpose, now that Pitch as out for the count. Jack readied his staff to freeze and shatter them, when something happened.

The first thing Jack could register was that he had gone completely _blind._ His eyes stung painfully, and he gripped his staff in one hand, blinking rapidly and raising his free hand in the air in case he needed to defend himself. The second and last thing he registered was that the comfortably frigid air had turned war, and even the frost on his royal blue hoody melted."The heck-?" he opened his eyes cautiously, and looked around. The Nightmares were gone, and all the snow and ice in a twenty yard radius had melted. Jack could hear the faint _slush slush _of someone running away through the now damp, swamp forest floor. He swung down and landed on the ground, which quickly began to ice over again. "Who was that?"

Jack began to run in that direction when he noticed a hole closing up a few feet ahead. Bunnymund's tunnels? What was Bunnymund doing in Norway? Easter was two months away, the Pooka should be hopping around speed-painting egglets and developing O.C.D over everything. Before the hole could completely close, Jack stood straight as a pencil and dropped through the small opening, the thin youth just fitting. He landed lightly on the floor of the tunnel, a grin spreading across his face. Bunnymund had to be up to something, and Jack couldn't wait to meddle with him. He took off running down the tunnel.

Lifa finally stopped running and slowed her feet to a stop, her black leather boots crunching in the snow. She sat on the roots of a large, wide tree and stretched her thin arms over her head. "Uugh, that really took it out of me." Lifa folded her arms over her head. The scrawny girl had thick, brown overgrown hair that was cut in a short pixie cut, a pale face and large, amber colored eyes and the faintest spray of freckles over the bridge of her nose and cheekbones. She slouched against the tree, meaning to fall asleep there when she heard the familiar muffled sound of scratching. Lifa sat up, "Bunnymund!"

"Dead on, mate." the Guardian of Hope jumped out of the ground. "How ya been gettin' along?" he asked, sitting down in front of her. Bunnymund knew full well he may as well sit down. Lifa was known for being lazy, and not bothering to stand up or scoot over.

"Well, actually…Now that you bring it up, I did just ran into a nasty surprise," Lifa mused, immediately jumping into casual conversation, "Of a group of Nightmares. It wasn't any problem, A few slashes with my sword and they were gone. Light and Nightmares don't mix. Do you know why there are nightmares around?"

Bunny's ears twitched agitatedly. "Some kid musta had a nightmare the other night and told his mates abou' it. Thanks for taking care o' them, though, I didn't want to have to do it. Easter Sunday's not that far away now." He lied. "Any way, I was get lettin' ya know to keep a sharp eye abou' in case there are more o' them."

"Alright, I will. Any other reason you're visiting?" Lifa asked, looking hopeful for a story of some sort. Bunnymund shook his head, and ruffled the girl's hair with his paw, making it more unruly. "Nah, that's all. I was just checkin' in on ya." Bunny stood up, tapping his foot on the ground and opening the tunnel again. "Take care o' yaself, Sunny." Just like that, the Easter spirit was gone.

"Meh," Lifa griped, swiping a hand over her head to straighten out her hair the best she could. "Bye, then." It was just the usual make-sure-she's-not-in-trouble visit.

Bunnymund hopped through the tunnels, heading back the way he came. It'd been twenty years since he'd visited the kid, and she always acted like it had only been a week. Then again, what are twenty years to an immortal, eternally youthful child? That's what always put Bunnymund at ease. The child was in solitude, and Bunny rarely ever had time to visit her. Over two thousand years of being alone, and Lifa was still perfectly sane and content. Bunny didn't think another certain childish spirit he knew could keep a level head for that long. In fact, that certain spirit was waiting in the tunnel for him.

"Hey, fuzzy. Who were you talking to?" Jack leaned against his staff, smirking in his usual way.

Bunnymund frowned. "Ya really startin' to get on my nerves, mate. Ya followin' me around now?"

Jack shrugged, "Around this time, you'd be preparing for Easter. Instead, you're stalking some girl who is probably the one who turned into a nightlight and annihilated those Nightmares. Is she some new guardian?" he asked. Bunnymund shifted on his feet nervously. "Er…Well, she ain't new, and she's not a guardian." He tried to push past Jack, but Jack put his staff in front of Bunnymund. "Whoa, there. What do you mean? It sounds like there's something you're not telling me, kangaroo."

"I'm not a-! Look, Frostbite, it's not something you want to know. She's better off not knowin' ya." Bunnymund started to try and convince Jack that there wasn't a point in trying to find out, but he looked at Jack, thought it over and realized there wasn't a point in that, either. He sighed, "Listen, mate, if ya wanna know, she's kind of…well…you could say she's kind of Pitch's daughter."

Jack choked, and coughed, basically having the reaction of first inhaling his own spit, and then of course, the panic that followed. "P-Pitch's WHAT? His kid? Pitch offspring? MINIATURE-"

"Alright, alright! Calm down, will ya? Stop yellin'. Look, she's not his daughter who died and became a guardian. They're not related. When she became a Guardian, Pitch wasn't so twisted and all back then. Pitch sort of adopted the little sheila. But Pitch caused the Witch Trials, and she up and left, came to the rest of the Guardians, asked us to help him. It didn't end well. She ain't got any memory o' what happened. If yer gonna go and talk to her," he looked at Jack, who was about to interject, "At least keep quiet about the Guardians and Pitch. She doesn't even know about us. Alright, mate?"

Jack glared at the ground and gripped his staff tired. "If she was Pitch's daughter, does that mean she's psychotic with a power complex?"

Bunnymund shook his head. "No, but she's five feet and four inches of concentrated sass. Good luck, Frostbite." He took off through the tunnels again, anxious to get away. Jack watched him go and looked up at the whole. "I get a feeling like this won't be any fun at all." He was both right and wrong.


	2. Chapter 2

Jack had spent the entire day following an intriguing individual. When Bunnymund had told him about her, he didn't really find what he expected. What Jack _had _expected was a girl who was just as creepy as Pitch was, but he actually thought she was alright. The big amber eyes, her unruly thick brown hair, and the fact that she's the clumsiest person Jack had ever witnessed told him that there was no way she could take after the King of Nightmares. She was about as frightening as a kitten trying to figure out how to get down the stairs for the first time. But even so, Bunnymund said she and Pitch had been very close. Jack didn't want to confront her yet. But it's hard to follow someone around and not get caught when everything you touch mysteriously gets a new covering of ice. Jack flew up into the trees again. _This is boring._

Lifa finally stopped walking, figuring it had gone on long enough. She picked up a rock, pretending to examine it. Jack sat down on the branch above her, wondering whether or not to keep stalking her, leave or say hello. The winter spirit never got the chance to decide, because Lifa spun around and hurled the rock towards him. It hit him between the eyes with a loud _THOCK_, bounced off and fell to the ground, and Jack followed suit. _THUD. _

Jack opened his eyes, grumbling and sat up, shaking leaves out of his silvery hair. "Ouch," he muttered, pulling his staff out from under him. Not the most comfortable landing. Looking around, he spoke spotted the girl again.

"What a creep." She was muttering, already walking away, uninterested in Jack now that she had made her point. Jack, however, didn't feel the same way.

Jack jumped to his feet, "I-I'm not a creep! Just hold on a sec!" he flew in front of her, his bare feet skimming the ground, becoming a little frantic. It wasn't often Jack was rejected so quickly. He had this idea about himself that _everybody _thought he was great, even though Bunny didn't admit it. "You're just going to leave after you almost gave me a concussion? Can't I even ask your name?"

"Lifa." She said, pushing past him. Lifa adjusted the yellow scarf around her neck and straightened her navy blue jacket. "Do me a favor, and don't follow me again," she added, without so much as glancing at Jack.

Jack frowned, officially done with being brushed off so easily. He did NOT like being ignored, especially now that people believed in him. He reached out and grabbed her arm. "You're not very friendly, you know that? I'm Jack Frost." he tried smiling, with a face that said _see-I'm-not-a-creep ._Lifa grabbed his hand and twisted it back, forcing him to let go of her arm. The girl had a death grip. "Yeah, I know who you are. Bunnymund told me about you, and when he said you were an "icicle in his side". I didn't think you'd be THIS annoying. "

Jack bent over to the side awkwardly, having no choice since his arm was being bent that way, "Ow, ow, ow!" _Oh boy, this isn't going so well. "_Let go let go!" It was almost comical, the way Jack flailed his free arm and panicked. "Don't break it, Oh god-"

Lifa smirked and let go without warning, letting Jack tumble onto the ground. "Well, you are funny, I'll give you that." She said, planting her hands on her hips.

Bunnymund darted through the tunnels. Why would he tell Jack that? What on earth possessed him to think that it'd be okay to do that? Jack was officially a Guardian. The rules were that Lifa couldn't meet a Guardian, except for Bunnymund, who served as some sort of parole officer. But the rules were made before Jack even existed, so in a way, they couldn't apply to him. Could they? Bunnymund didn't want to find out. What he was worried about was they Jack and Lifa were both children, and almost the same age. Both were smart asses, Lifa was naturally violet, and both enjoyed wreaking havoc, Jack more so. Not just that, but they were exact opposites. If you dumped Jack in a room with someone, the room would get cold. That's it. Frost and cold air. Vice versa, Lifa has the opposite effect. The room warms up and the light seems to get brighter. Bunny didn't even think they could get close to each other without chaos breaking out. But he had just blurted the truth out that easily. After all the horrible things that happened, he just let it out and told the snowflake. What if they became friends? That would be horrible! They'd never find peace. Or what if they hated each other? He didn't know which was worse. Bunny decided he should just get there soon.

It took about half an hour until Lifa and Jack were officially hating each other. Lifa, covered in frost and ice, had finally pinned Jack on the ground, and shoved his face in the dirt, yelling "SAY UNCLE! SAY IT! SAY IT NOW!", When Bunnymund popped out of the ground a few feet away. "Hey, hey! That's enough, what happened to you two?" he grabbed Lifa by her arms and pulled her off Jack, giving him a chance to breathe. "Are ya tryin' to kill him?" he put Lifa down, but held onto her gold-colored scarf, like a leash.

Jack jumped up, holding his staff defensively and shaking leaves and dirt out of his hair. "She WAS going to kill me!"

"HE CALLED ME SHORT! I'LL SHIP HIM OFF TO THE SAHARA DESERT, SEE HOW FAST HE MELTS!" she lunged forward, only to be pulled back by Bunny, who also pointed his boomerang at Jack. "Jack, quit being a brat to Lifa. Lifa, stop being all…This." He waved at her.

"You just pointed to ALL of me!" she tried to bite Bunny's arm, which kept a tight grip on her scarf. "Yep," Bunny confirmed, "Stop bein' a bundle o' violence and threats. Now, if I let you go, do you promise not to attack?" Jack raised his staff a little higher at the words "let go".

Lifa relaxed. "Fine." Bunnymund let go of her, and she fixed her scarf, while Jack skirted nervously away from her and behind Bunny. "Bunny! I thought you said she wasn't psychotic!" he whispered, pointing at her angrily. "She's completely nuts. She hates me, too, that's just odd."

Bunnymund just stared at Jack. "…Do you have some sort o' idea that everyone likes you? 'Cause you're actually pretty irritating…" he caught Jack's glare, and decided to let it go. "Look, you're both kids the same age, can't you at least try to get along?"

Jack and Lifa glared at each other for a minute. Bunnymund stepped back a bit. "Just try. Come on." He looked at them both, waiting for an answer. E. Aster Bunnymund was in no way used to dealing with squabbles between children, especially kids like Jack and Lifa, when they could freeze you solid or worse. Finally, they both broke eye contact with each other, and muttered, "Fine."

"Good. That's better. Come along, Frost bite." He grabbed Jack's hood, "Bye, Lif. See ya around." Bunny called over her shoulder, dragging Jack along with him, leaving Lifa behind in confusion of the strange, rapid-fire events that just happened.


	3. Chapter 3

Jack walked through the tunnels with Bunnymund, heading to the Warren. "Well…I didn't enjoy that at all. Do I have a black eye?" he asked, pointing at his face, trying to get Bunny to laugh or something. It didn't work. Bunnymund kept walking without glancing at Jack, wearing an expression like he had burrs in his fur. Jack's smile faded and his shoulders slumped a little, "I didn't mean to make her mad like that. She just overreacted. Way overreacted. I didn't know how to greet her, so I kind of just followed her around-"

"That's what you did wrong!" Bunny interjected, looking at him. "Lifa ain't a dumb girl who won't notice of some idjit is followin' 'er around! Of course she overreacted, she's been alone more than twice as long as you 'ave. I've known 'er for a long time, and I know she certainly ain't stupid," Bunny stepped out of the tunnel into the Warren. Jack followed, remaining silent and avoiding the egglets scampering around his feet while he endured the lecture. Bunnymund went on, "She probably knew you were followin' 'er the entire time. Lifa doesn't know who ya are, what your intentions were or how to respond, so she responded by doin' what she does best and defendin' herself against what she saw as a threat." Bunnymund bent down, nudging the egglets back into line. "A boy she doesn't know holdin' a big staff that's basically a weapon? You were definitely a threat to 'er, in 'er own mind."

Jack mumbled under his breath, "I'm sorry, okay? Jeez." He shoved his hands in the pocket of his hoody. "Why does she act like that, anyway? And how long has she been alone?" he hopped over the little army of egglets, following Bunnymund. "I mean in a precise number."

Bunnymund stopped tending to the egglets for a moment, then returned back to doing so, and spoke quietly, "I don't really know. Over two thousand. It's hard t' tell. Lifa's really barely sixteen years old, at heart."

Jack looked up, and stared at Bunny for a minute, then looked at the ground, and kicked the grass, sending a streak of frost shooting in that general direction. He didn't know what to say. Three hundred years alone, that was rough. But over two thousand? Jack's stomach knotted up at the thought. Could he have gone on that long on his own? He was almost sure he couldn't. But that wasn't the only thing that bothered him. When he had grabbed Lifa's arm, for just a minute, he saw in her eyes she was afraid of him. Afraid and unsure. She really had just acted rashly, but not without reason. And barely sixteen years old? Jack was pretty sure he was almost eighteen when he died. Lifa was younger by about two years when she died. Jack leaned on his staff, looking at the ground, unfocused. It didn't seem like a big deal before, but now, looking back on the ordeal, he felt awful. "So what do I do, then?"

Bunny retrieved his painting supplies, picking up an egg. "I dunno, mate. You two are kids, after all. I dunno how ya think. How about ya try bein' nice to 'er? I think the phrase "gentleman" applies 'ere."

Jack stared at him, then shook his head vigorously, "Wh-wh-what? No. Bunny, I can tell her I'm sorry but getting to know her is another thing. And do I look like a "gentleman" to you?" he pointed at his bare feet. "I don't think so. Little kids are my forte, not…"

"Girls your age?" Bunnymund snickered. "Shut up, that's not what I meant!" Jack snapped, pointing his staff at Bunny and coating him in a thick layer of frost. "You said she used to be friends with Pitch. Like his _daughter._ What's she going to think if she knows that I sort of knocked Pitch out of the ring two years ago?"

Bunnymund stood up and looked at Jack. "She won't. She doesn't remember anythin'. Not Pitch, not the Guardians. She just knows me cause I'm…her care taker, I suppose. I just drop in now and then to make sure no memories came back."

Jack frowned, and stood in front of Bunnymund, meaning to ask some more questions, but he decided not to. He couldn't get to know Lifa if he learned everything from Bunnymund. Besides, it wouldn't be much fun if he did. "Alright. I'll talk to her in a few days. I'll see you around, Egg Head." Jack jumped off the ground and shot up into the sky, leaving the Warren and Bunnymund to his Easter preparations.


	4. Chapter 4

Smothering darkness. That's the only thing that Lifa's mind could see. Every night, she never had a dream or nightmare. It was always swelling, roiling darkness, like an ocean. An endless, ice cold ocean. She couldn't ever remember when she'd had a dream. Lifa knew so little about herself. She knew that she was what, fifteen or sixteen years of age? That she hated the dark and the cold? No. That was nowhere near enough to fill the void that always circled in the back of her mind, and ached in the pit of her gut. _Lifa Eir Hiccup Haddock the Fourth. That's my name._

It was a simple thing that kept her rooted as someone, as a person. How can a name define someone? Her name meant nothing to Lifa anymore, because Lifa had long since forgotten her language. The words had fluttered away, and she hadn't spoken them for centuries. The entities of the world she used to know were long gone. Lifa has nothing, absolutely _nothing _of who she used to be, save for a single trinket. A simple rose quarts circle, tied onto a strong leather cord she always wore around her neck. Who gave it to her? Why was it so precious? Every time she reached up to take it off, her heart lurched in her chest and she couldn't do it.

Pitch couldn't take that away from Lifa. Pitch had erased all her memories of who she was, every single one since before that war that tore them apart. He shrouded her mind completely, wove the nightmare sand around it, but never did he give her nightmares. The Boogeyman himself couldn't inflict that torment on someone he had, _no, still does _see as his own daughter. Pitch had dared to hope that if he had defeated them, he could finally release her from that prison. The one living thing who had never despised and hated him, who understood things about fear that humans never understood. You're afraid of losing your loved ones? Then you protect them. You're afraid of falling? You get better at climbing. Fear can be good. But Pitch had forgotten that. Oh, it had been so long since Pitchiner had known how to be humane, or felt humane. Those accursed Guardians. Lifa had kept him humane. She had been his daughter, his child, his companion. _They take everything away from me._

Pitch had only enough power left to keep his few nightmares alive, and keep nightmare sand forever encasing Lifa's golden cylinder of teeth, her precious memories. Not enough power to formulate a new tactic, or keep the Fearlings bent to his will. They had abandoned him long ago. He couldn't use his power for anything other than that. _But a sacrifice can be made._

The black encasing of the memory-casket began to crumble.

One day later~

Lifa sat up, stretching her arms over her head, scrunching up her nose and yawning loudly. She hopped off the bed, and wandered across her two-floor house, tripping over her boots on the way to the bathroom. Shower, brush her teeth, towel off her hair, get dressed in her usual jeans and pale gold long sleeve shirt. The entire time she was getting ready for the day, the sun slowly rose over the horizon. She pulled on her leather boots and laced them up. Tying her white knit scarf around her neck and pulling on her worn out, dull brown trench coat, she darted outside into the frigid Norwegian air. "MORNING!" she shouted, startling several animals into all directions. Lifa laughed. _My favorite part, announcing it. _Lifa jogged away from the house, then took off sprinting through the woods. Every morning, Lifa went racing through the woods, heading to the highest ravine to meet the sun when it made it all the way over the horizon. Lifa skidded to a halt at the edge of the ravine, staring across the land. What was she going to do today? Maybe some archery. Or work in the forge? Build something? Paint? Music? So many things to do. "Maybe I'll learn a new instrument today?"

Jack packed a snow ball in his hands, peeking out from behind a tree at Lifa, preparing to throw it at her. _Try bein' a gentleman._ Jack remembered what Bunnymund said. Jack was DEFINITELY not an expert on gentlemen but he was pretty sure that they didn't throw snowballs at the head of a girl they were trying to be nice to. He dropped the snowball, almost pouting. He gripped his staff behind his back in a non-threatening way and walked up behind Lifa. "Hey? Uh, morning?"

Lifa stiffened and turned around. "What the hell do you want now? I told you to leave me alone. Are you dense?" she snapped at him, crossing her arms. Jack took a step back, a little offended. "Um…I want to say sorry. I wasn't very polite."

Lifa narrowed her golden eyes, "No, you weren't. In fact, you were a complete arse." Jack rubbed his hand over his silvery-white hair. He'd never been called an "arse" before. "I'm apologizing. Come on, it's a beautiful morning. Hang out with me today, I'll prove I'm not such a bad guy." Jack tried smiling, "How about we try a proper introduction? What's your name?"

Lifa planted her hands on her hips, debating whether or not to explore this. She was alone all the time, and solitude is fine, but still…There was a twisted feeling in her mind that made her curious. "…I'm Lifa. Lifa Eir Hiccup Haddock the Fourth." She stated proudly.

Jack's frost-blue eyes widened slightly, and his hands tightened on his staff. _Hiccup Haddock. Small, thin, round and freckled face._ The thoughts were vague, like it was a memory he couldn't place. That kind of memory from when you were so young, you couldn't be sure if you'd just conjured it up, and it had never really happened.Jack forced himself to relax. Getting overreacted over this wouldn't make it any easier to get Lifa to trust him. He could sort his mental struggle out later. "That's a mouthful. I'll call ya Lifa. Or Liffy. Liffy work for you?"

Lifa stared at him, her mouth agape. "Uhh…Liffy? If you really want to, I guess. So you're Jokul Frosti." Inside, Jack winced. He didn't like being called that, mostly because the Norse people depicted him as some scary old sorcerer with a temper worse than Poseidon.

"Yeah, but it's Jack Frost, actually."

"Nah, Jokul. Or Frosti. Frosti, yeah. Alright, you wanted to hang out with me today. What do you want to do?" Jack let that Jokul Frosti thing go for the moment. He looked at her, smiling and tilting his head. "Have you ever been ice skating?"

End of chapter four.


	5. Chapter 5

Jack perched on his staff, midair. "You won't learn to skate if you don't get on the ice, you know." He said, watching Lifa glare at the ice and hang onto a tree at the edge of the frozen pond. "It won't break. I froze it a foot thick."

Lifa scowled at him, and stepped onto the ice, her leather boots skidding on the ice. She didn't own a pair of skates.

"Are you sure it's safe, Jokul?"

"Positive!"

"This is dangerous."

"It'll be fun."

"You're an arse."

Jack landed on the ice, sliding backwards, away from her. "Look, it's easy. It's just sliding one foot in front of the other." Lifa frowned, trying to keep her balance. Her leather boots didn't find much purchase on the smooth ice. It took her a few minutes, but eventually, she finally had the hang of ice skating. Lifa wasn't graceful, but she wasn't a danger to herself anymore. "Alright, yeah, It is kind of fun. What else do you do for fun?"

"Snow ball fights, build stuff out of snow, sledding, dumping snow on people…" Jack reeled off a list of winter activities. Lifa, however, just stared at him blankly. None of those interested her. In fact, Lifa hated being cold. Loathed it. "Is everything snow for you?" she asked, edging her way off the ice. "Don't you do anything else?"

Jack frowned. "Um…like what?"

Lifa stepped back onto the dirt, her shoes scuffing loudly against the leaves. "Like chess. Or painting. Fencing, piano, reading…Oh, I should teach you piano!"

Jack backed up, "Um, no, I don't think that's a good idea-" Lifa grabbed his hand and dragged him back towards her house. "No, it'll be great! You can't go your entire life without music!"

Later, Jack was sat down in front of a Grand Piano in Lifa's house. Lifa's home was a simple, wooden floored place, with music sheets, instruments, projects and all sorts of knick-knacks scattered about. The home of a genius, a musician, an artist, a soldier…it made Jack feel a bit dull in comparison. Lifa tapped the keys of the piano, playing what Jack learned to be called Ano Natsu He,according to the sheet music. _I will never be able to do this, _he thought.

"This is my favorite song on piano…here." She reached over and took Jack's hand. Jack tensed. Lifa's hand was warm, like a normal person's, and it made him agitated. "Like this." She guided his hand onto the right keys. "In this order. Try it," she encouraged.

Jack sat stiff as a board, his lips pressed in a thin line. _I don't think I've ever touched an instrument before- Oh, great. _Frost began crawling over the keys of the piano. _This probably isn't good for it. _He followed Lifa's lead, attempting to play the piano, but instead aggressively jabbing the keys so the melody came out choppy, without flow, and his fingers slipped, striking the wrong notes. Lifa winced visibly, regretting her decision. "Oi, Be a little gentler," she directed, watching Jack's terrible piano playing.

"I give up." He raised his hands in defeat and fell off the back of the bench on to the floor dramatically. THUD. "I am talentless." Lifa closed the lid of the piano. "That you are," she chuckled, looking down at him. "Having fun down there?" She stood up.

Jack grinned up at her. "Yes. Can we go have a snow ball fight or something now? You tried to teach me piano and failed." Lifa shook her head, "No, I don't like the cold. It's late. You can go now." Jack stood up, looking at her. "What? I've been so nice all day, and you're sending me away?" Lifa steered Jack towards the door. "You're not an arse, I'll admit. But I still don't trust you. Good bye, Jokul." Before Jack could protest, Lifa closed the door in his face.

Jack stood outside for a minute, feeling slightly abashed. "Okay…bye, Liffy." He turned, and headed back into the forest. Lifa's home was located in the very center of the seemingly endless trees. Jack stared up at the branches overhead, the snow and icicles that blanketed each individual twig. It didn't seem so bad here. Jack gripped his staff, preparing to fly off, when a voice called out from behind him, "Hello, Jack."

The hair on the back of Jack's neck stood on end. He knew that voice too well, and he felt his stomach roil at the sound of it. _Pitch. _Jack barely finished the thought before he whipped around, slamming his staff against the ground and sending ice arching towards where the voice came from.

The ice met with a wall of nightmare sand, surging up and colliding explosively. "Now, Jack, that wasn't a very warm welcome. Is that how you greet an old friend?" Pitch step forward, the same malicious grin on his face.

Jack gritted his teeth, keeping his staff pointed at Pitch. "I don't consider you a friend, Pitch. What do you want? Actually, I don't care. Just get away from here."

Pitch frowned. "I'm afraid I'm actually here on business. I do not know why the rabbit thought this wasn't dangerous, but I, frankly, do not care. I can't allow you to continue "befriending" Lifa." The nightmare sang swirled, then rose, forming a devastatingly deadly scythe in Pitch's hand. Jack inched back a little.

"I don't think it's exactly YOUR decision to make, Pitch. What's so important about her, anyway? Why does she have to be a-" Jack doubled over in pain, choking, and wrapping his arms over his stomach defensively. He hadn't even seen Pitch move. He had just been punched in the gut, and it was all Jack could do not to vomit. Jack staggered back, looking up only to feel a blunt hit against his jaw that sent him careening backwards. The grip on his staff came loose and Jack didn't see where it landed.

"This is not like the last time we fought. There is no bigger picture here except for knocking you down. And even better, you're on your own. There is no one here to jump in and save you." Pitch raised the scythe, and slashed down. Jack scrambled backwards, almost standing up and falling down again, barely avoiding being sliced in half. _Where's my staff, where's my staff, where's…?! _He screamed in his mind over, and over. If only he had it, he could fight back, he could use the wind and get away, he could do _something_ besides panicking and rolling around in the dirt, avoiding every strike from the scythe that came down again, and again. Hissing through the air, and cutting deep into the ground inches away from his body, then being ripped out of the ground again. Jack couldn't see Pitch anymore, he was too dazed. This had all happened so fast, and gone downhill for him in an instant.

"Jack, you look so pathetic right now!" Pitch called out from behind Jack, who had finally gotten to his feet and was desperately searching for his staff. "Running like a frightened child. Is this the great Winter Guardian?"

_Shut up! _Forgetting about his staff for a moment, Jack ducked down to the ground at the familiar sound of the scythe's swishing noise as it sliced through the air. Not fast enough. The blade cut into Jack's body, gashing across the back of his shoulders. Jack screamed in anguish. He'd never been hurt before, not like this. A warm feeling spread over his back, quickly turning cold. _Oh no…no no no, I'm bleeding to death or something, what do I d-_

Pitch's scythe of nightmare sand reformed into a long staff, which he swung around, slamming it into Jack and sending him through the air, slamming into a thick tree. He ricocheted off it, and crashed into the ground, the force of the landing stealing his breath from his lungs. Jack clenched his fists against the dirt, trying desperately to suck in air, to get up. He had barely inhaled with a sharp foot connected with his torso, sending him rolling across the ground. Again, and again, Pitch kicked him. Jack's head spun and pounded mercilessly, his vision blurred and tinted red at the edges. He could not breathe. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't take in air. He could hear Pitch laughing and taunting him, but everything sounded distant. Before Pitch could kick him again, Jack caught his foot and twisted as hard as he could. _Finally got you, _he thought weakly when he heard Pitch's yell of anger, and pain. The winter spirit's satisfaction didn't last, because Pitch's hand closed around his wrist, and he felt himself yanked into the air, suspended off the ground. _What…?_

Pitch's grip on his wrist tightened, more and more, until the bone began to creak in protest. Jack finally gasped, breathing in sweet air and cried out with his strangled voice, "_NO-" _He reached up with his free hand, clawing at Pitch's fingers, trying to making let go, and then…

_**Snap.**_

Jack's scream of agony echoed across the forest. Pitch let go of Jack's now mangled wrist, letting him fall onto the ground ungracefully. Jack gasped in pain at the impact, his chest feeling like it was burning from the inside.

"Poor Jack. It's a shame. I could get rid of you now, but the Guardians would most likely come after me if I did. I'll let you off with this warning. Send my regards to the rabbit, would you?" Pitch retreated into the darkness.

Jack rolled onto his back, his breath flowing in with a rattling wheeze, and coming out in harsh coughs. _Get. Up. _His fingernails dug into the dirt, as he tried to push himself off the ground. _You're not dying here. _If he could die, that is. But Jack's oxygen deprived, shocked brain wasn't capable of complicated questions like that at the moment. He spent a full twenty minutes, trying to sit up, roll over onto his side, just to _MOVE _but it just hurt too much. Finally, he gave up, laying limp on the ground. His fingers were cake in dirt, the nails chipped from digging into the ground. _How could I be beaten so easily? How could this happen? How…_

To Jack's own shame, he felt hot tears pricking his eyes, flowing down his temples, soaking in his filthy, blood matted hair. _Stop crying. _But he couldn't. He was in so much pain, so ashamed that he'd lost this fight without even being able to hold his own. The tears kept coming. As Jack's mind began to float off and his eyes fluttered closed, he vaguely wondered why the tears hadn't frozen.


	6. Chapter 6

Jack opened his eyes, a painful jabbing sensation in his arm jolting him awake. _Ugh. I feel like I just got stuck in a microwave…_He thought miserably. Jack blinked as his vision cleared up and tried turning his head to look around for the source of the pain, but couldn't. His neck ached horribly.

"Oi, it's about time you woke up! I thought you were dead."

Jack's eyes widened for a minute, and ignoring the pain, he sat up and came face to face with Lifa. It was dim in the room, but her luminous gold eyes were a dead giveaway. He tried asking her what happened but it came out sounding more along the lines, "Wham niffgned?"

"Am I supposed to understand that?" Lifa wrapped up the spool of thread, and corked the bottle of medicinal alcohol disinfectant. She'd been stitching up a gash on Jack's arm. "Alright, that's the last of the stitches. Time for the worst part,"

Jack had been silently recollecting the events that caused his injured state, when he realized Lifa had taken hold of his broken wrist, which was still bent at a unnatural angle. "Might want to take a deep breath." She told him, preparing to snap the bone back into place.

"No no, J-Just hold on a sec-" Too late. Lifa mercilessly gripped his wrist tightly and forced the bone back into alignment, while Jack clenched his teeth down on a scream of pain.

"Don't be such a baby, I break bones all the time. You'll survive." Lifa said unsympathetically, binding a strip of wood against the bone so it held in place. "What the heck happened to you, anyway?"

"I…er…What happened to my hoody?" Jack realized that instead of his blue hoody, he was wearing a white t-shirt, and he was glad to change the subject. Jack didn't want Lifa knowing he'd lost a fight, pathetically. "Did you change my clothes?!"

Lifa put away her medical supplies in a wooden chest, sliding it under the bed Jack was laying on. "Yes. They were all torn up and bloody. I'll fix them today, if you want."

Jack was a little more distracted by the fact _a girl he barely knows just changed his clothes for him. _"Um uh okay…thank you. That would be nice." His voice came out stiff and robotic.

Lifa shrugged it off, "I warn you, I'm not the best seamstress." She told him, picking up a bowl of ice cold water with a cloth in it and putting it on the bedside table. Placing her hand on his forehead, then making a _tsk _noise, she picked up the cloth and rung out the water. "I thought your fever would be down by now. So, repeating my question, what happened to you?" Lifa put her hand on Jack's shoulder and pushed him back against the pillows, then placed the cloth on his forehead.

Jack thought about it for a moment, then spoke. "I was attacked by someone. I lost the fight, and they left after that. I couldn't fight back because they knocked my staff-" he realized he still didn't have his staff back, and he began to panick. "Wait, Where is it? Did you find it? I need to-"

Lifa picked up the staff from the floor and tapped Jack's head with it. "I have it right here. Calm down," she told him as he took his staff, looking relieved. _Why is he so attached to a big stick? _Lifa thought. "You know, you were pretty pitiful. I was out on my morning walk and I found you all gashed up on the ground. In tears. Not manly tears." Lifa picked up some books littered around the room, and placed them back on the shelf. Jack wasn't the best reader, but he caught a glimpse of the titles. _Alchemy; A Science, Norse Mythology, Medicinal Plants, Physics and Technology; Application _and much more. Lots of books about science and knowledge. "You…you're quite a scholar, huh?" he observed, watching Lifa tidy up the books.

"You could say that." _Or I just have a lot of free time,_ She thought. Actually, Lifa's mind naturally craved knowledge. She was quite clever. A genius, really. "You might want to take it easy for a few days. Don't want to reopen that gash on your ba- OI!"

Jack was already standing up, swaying on his feet and leaning on his staff for support. He'd lost a lot of blood, and it was taking a toll, resulting in his vision spinning and his head pounding. Lifa was about to snap at him when she caught the look on his face. Several emotions all at once. Embarrassment, frustration, shame, helplessness, rage. It was all there. Lifa herself was surprised at how her voice sounded, so gentle and calming, "Jokul, I know you're probably anxious to leave, but you were hurt badly. At least stay until I fix your clothes, alright?" Lifa picked up her sewing case.

Jack blinked. Lifa never sounded like that. Her tone was always gruff, stiff, and she always spoke with some sort of slang or swing in her voice. "Alright." He gave in.

While Lifa rooted through the many, many spools of thread, hunting for the best shade of blue, Jack gazed around Lifa's home. He noticed paintings hung on the walls, and he smiled slightly at a particular one, a snow laden forest. "Did you paint those?" he asked, nodding at the paintings. The only response he got was an "Mm-hm" from Lifa, who had her bow lips pressed in a line as she threaded the needle, missing the first four times. Jack's smile grew bigger. He'd never been much into art, but he was still impressed. Lifa sat silently as she stitched up Jack's blue hoody, which was really a tattered mess. It took a long time for it to regain a shape remotely resembling a shirt. "Hey, Jokul?"

Jack swung his attention back to Lifa, "Yeah?"

"The person who attacked you…Was it Puki?" she inquired, tying a neat knot with the thread and starting on repairing the left sleeve.

"Huh? Pukey?"

Lifa frowned, "No, you idgit, Puki. To you, you might call him the boogeyman."

_Oh. Right. The Norse name for Pitch is Puki. _Jack recalled, _Just like Jokul Frosti is Jack Frost. _"…Yes. It was. But he's gone now. Lifa, why do you call everything by Norse names?"

Lifa's hands froze, and her fingers tensed with the needle poised between their tips. "B-Because…I grew up in a Viking village. I was raised that way." She replied through clenched teeth.

"Ohh, that explains a lot." He smirked. _So, she's a Viking. _

"Here. I'm finished." Lifa rolled up the hoody and tossed it to Jack, who caught it and pulled it over his head, gingerly. His shoulders still ached horribly from the gash inflicted from Pitch's scythe. "Thanks."

Lifa packed up her sewing supplies. "You're welcome." Placing the box back on it's shelf, Lifa turned and looked at him, crossing her arms. She glanced at Jack dubiously. "Are you sure you're alright? I mean…You lost a lot of blood, you have a fever…" Lifa ticked off a list of his injures, counting her fingers. Jack smirked a little bit. "Are you worried about me?" he interrupted her.

Lifa looked him directly in the eyes, "…And there was Nightmare sand trapped in the gash on your back," she finished, "Yes. I'm very worried, considering my only companion has an injury like _that."_

_ Only companion? Wow. Only known her for a few days. I guess she really was lonely, _Jack thought. But her words struck him like a death sentence. "D-did you clean it out?"

Lifa nodded, "As much as I could. I couldn't tell if it was in your blood stream or not. But, I did take the liberty of noticing your body temperature if lower than mine, and that of a normal human's. You're not cold blooded, though."

Jack stared at her blankly. "Uhh…Sorry, I'm not a doctor. What does that mean?"

"It means, your blood stream flows at a slower speed than it would if your body temperature was normal. If it did get into your blood stream, you'd have some time before it spread entirely. It would've been a small amount, so your body might have been able to fight it off." Lifa explained expertly.

"Oh. That…makes sense." He raised his eyebrows at her. "You make it sound like a disease."

Lifa walked over to him again. "It is a disease. Unfortunately, it's not the kind you catch and then can't catch again, like chicken pox. The opposite, actually. Once you catch it, it leaves an opening. If you get near that virus after surviving it the first time, it'll bore through that previous opening and rip you apart from the inside, physically and mentally. " she placed her hand on his forehead, checking for a fever again. To her relief, his face was cool to the touch. Back to his normal chilly self. "But your fever is gone, so your body probably fought it off."

Jack pushed her hand away, looking up at her. "You sure know a lot about this "virus", Liffy," he observed uneasily.

Lifa looked at him for a minute. "Well…it's because I was infected with it once before."

"And you were cured?"

"Yes."

"How? By what?"

"…Who. By who, you mean."

Jack stood up, crossing his arms. "Alright, who cured you?"

Lifa just stood there, staring at the ground, her hands clasped behind her back.

She both loved and hated Jack for the resemblance he bared to someone she once knew. The white hair reminded her of her best friend's fair locks and his smirk matched his exactly. Same thin physique, taller than her, teasing and a trickster. But Lifa clearly knew why Jack is trying to befriend her. She saw the loneliness etched in his eyes, and she knew he didn't want anyone else to suffer that way. Jokul was worried about her now, and he wanted to help her. But she'd only just met him, so why, _why _did she feel like she could trust him?

_It's those damn eyes_, she thought bitterly. Finally, Lifa lifted her head to look at Jack.

"Pitch cured me. He saved my life and my sanity. That's the last time I ever saw Pitch Black."

Jack stared at her, his mouth open in a perfect O. "W-w-wha- Back up! Just rewind for a minute," Jack made a winding motion with his hands, like rewinding a tape. "You're saying that you were infected with this disease, which is caused by _nightmare sand _which is created _by Pitch Black _and he cured you?! Lifa, how do you know if he's the one who infected you in the first place? Why in Man in Moon's name would you trust that sadistic creep?"

Lifa stared at the floor, mumbling, "I didn't have a choice, Jack. And he didn't infect me." She looked up at him, speaking louder, "This disease can attack in many forms, and not all Fearlings are commanded by Pitch. I was bitten by one, not one of his. The infection set in overnight, I…" Lifa shivered visibly. "Look, I don't want to talk about it. I don't really remember, anyway. Just get some sleep, I'll see you in the morning," Lifa ordered, backing out of the guest room and closing the door behind her, leaving Jack to his own thoughts. Bunny had told him Pitch treated Lifa like his own daughter. But Jack highly doubted that Pitch Black had any love in his twisted excuse for heart, much less fatherly love. Pitch probably wouldn't even know _how_ to be a father. Fathers were meant to be protecting, compassionate, and teachers. They are supposed to set examples for their children. Jack had seen his fair share of families over the years. Good and bad fathers. Abusive, cruel, and neglecting or kind, understanding and loving. Had Pitch always been as horrible as he was? What kind of father could the King of Nightmares possibly be?


	7. Chapter 7

**Sorry for taking so long to update, I've been having a ton of school problems. But, it's spring break! If I can avoid being forced to hang out with my family, I'll be updating like a madwoman! Also, If it's not too much to ask, some reviews would be great. This is really the first time I've tried writing, and I want to know the feedbacks on Lifa's character so far. And an authors note: Lifa and Jack are in no way intended to have a romantic relationship. Just throwing that out there. It's more like an ultimate bro-ship, like Donna and the Doctor. Best friends, yes. But later in the story, I'll put it up to vote. And sorry if the plot is slow going, but the real villain will be revealed in the next few chapters. But seriously, send me some ideas! I'm completely open! And now, on to Chapter 7. ALONS-Y!**

Two weeks passed since Jack had spoken to Lifa, and none of his questions had been answered. His wounds were healing quickly, and it seemed like Pitch Black wasn't taking any action, much to Jack's confusion. But it didn't stop him from playing with the gang in Burgess. Jamie was almost thirteen years old. Jack noticed Jamie's changes in behavior. Just the other day, Jack visited him just when he got out of school and Jamie had been telling Jack about a catastrophe in a science lab that day, when a red-headed girl walked by with her friends. She'd smiled at Jamie, and waved. Jamie could only stutter, "H-Hey, Aislyn!" with a red face. Jack didn't want to think about it, but he knew Jamie was growing up. He wasn't sure if he thought it was funny, how Jamie was starting to develop crushes on certain special class mates, or be worried that it would consume his time for snow ball fights and fun. So, he dismissed the thought.

At the moment, he was wandering through Burgess at night, and Jamie had gone to bed an hour before. Jack passed windows which received a coating of intricately beautiful frost patterns as he went by. He scratched his arm distractedly, over the stitches that held together a gash Lifa had stitched two weeks ago. It itched like crazy now. _Maybe it's time to take them out?_ Jack thought, jumping off the sidewalk and taking to the skies. It'd felt like forever since he'd seen Lifa. So, Jack let the wind carry him to Norway.

/ / / / / / / /

Lifa stepped into her wooden cabin, her mud-caked boots clunking against the floor. She hung her bow and quiver in their hooks. She walked through the archway into her study, and collapsed into the sofa, heavy brown leather coat and all, kicked off her boots and sighed loudly. It's been a long day. _And I_ _didn't even catch anything_, she thought dejectedly. Lifa hunted her own food, and tended a garden. Everything she ate and cooked, she caught and foraged herself. . Lifa plucked at a small hole in the elbow of her sweater. Even her clothes were simple. Jeans, and a long sleeve, almost-tunic-length shirt that was the palest shade of gold, and mismatched socks. Lifa depended only on her own skills to live her humble, simple life.

But for some reason today, the woods were empty of any game to shoot or trap. Every dead-fall or snare she'd set was left untouched, and she had the same number of arrows in her quiver as she did when she left that morning. Lifa shook her head, feeling uneasy. _I'm just paranoid_. But even so, she stood and latched the door's three locks shut. Lifa actually had six locks on her door. But if someone tried to pick a lock that wasn't locked, they would just end up locking it. Therefore, if someone tried to break in, they would end up locking themselves out. As she latched the locked the windows, and stood in front of the last set of bay windows, her fingers on the latch, she felt a shiver go down her spine.

It all happened in a precisely fourteen seconds.

First, the lights went out.

Then, the windows crashed open and a rib-cracking force threw Lifa across the room, and she slammed into an armoire that stood against the wall at the end of the living room.

As Lifa hit the ground, the air was knocked from her lungs. Fearlings flooded into her home. The moonlight shone against their Nightmare sand bodies, and their sickly yellow eyes were luminous in the dim surroundings. Lifa, finally having caught her breathe, surged to her feet, spun around and threw open the doors of the armoire, her hand closing around the first weapon there. A long, gleaming hunting knife. But it was knocked out of her hands before she could get into a fighting stance. Then, Lifa suddenly felt weightless. She was being lifted from the ground, and then slammed into the wall, bouncing off of it and crashing to the floor. Her ears rang, and the air was stolen from her lungs.

_Get up_. She couldn't breathe. _Get. Up._ She knew two of her ribs were cracked_. God dammit, DON'T JUST_ _LAY HERE, GET OFF YOUR ASS AND FIGHT!_ Lifa cursed her damn inner survival instinct. It was like a second Lifa, in her mind, who'd start ordering her around like a superior military officer to not die. So, Lifa heaved in a deep breath of precious air, and her ribcage seared in pain, protesting. Lifa struggled to push herself off the floor with her thin arms, but she was definitely ready to kick some ass. But none of the Fearlings were attack. Lifa counted six of them. Two men, a grotesque gargoyle-like thing that Lifa thought would be what a Fury or Harpy from Greek myths resembled, and then three massive stallions. Lifa bared her teeth at them like a deadly she-wolf, actually growling in rage. "Bastards, WHAT ARE YOU DODDLING AROUND FOR?"

But Lifa didn't have time to be a salty little warrior, to yell at her attackers, or too begin thinking about why there were even Fearlings attacking in the first place. Soon, her entire world was shaken by soul-shattering shrieks. Her ears bled, and Lifa slammed her hands over her ears, curling up on the wooden slats of her living room floor, unable to move. How could noise be so horrible that it rendered someone unmoving? Her head pounded like a heavy wrench was being slammed against her temple. But then…

Silence.

Jack's feet touched down to the Earth, not far from Lifa's house. He smiled. Maybe he shouldn't have taken the scenic route. But Lifa didn't know he was coming, so why would she accuse him of being late? Then again, Jack had a terrible sense of time. It was late at night. Lifa should be asleep. Jack wondered what she dreamt about. Sandy didn't give Jack dreams, because Jack made his own. Some children were like that. But Lifa had so many books and drawings and paintings that filled her home, that Jack found it highly unlikely that she didn't have the immense mental capacity to conjure wonderful dreams. Or stories! Could Lifa tell stories? Jack shook his head. She's not your very best friend, stop acting like it. Jack thought, recalling how Lifa insisted keeping him at a distance. He walked the rest of the way towards Lifa's house. He finally came to the clearing in the deepest part of the woods, and he stopped dead in his tracks.

The windows were shattered, and a layer of Nightmare sand glittered on the ground around the humble cabin. Jack immediately bounded into her house and hopped through the broken window. He didn't even yell her name, because he knew she wasn't there. Nothing alive was in that house. Nothing alive as anywhere near that house, because the Fearlings had scared everything away. So where was Lifa? Jack didn't think she was helpless but…

Jack shook his head at old memories. A boy he used to know had been a runt. Scrawny and thin, almost no muscle. Hiccup had been no master at brute strength, but he was in no way helpless. And Lifa, Jack clearly knew, was clever and a natural born fighter. So she had to be alright. She'd gotten away. He hoped. Jack spun around and launched himself into the air, letting the wind carry him through the trees. He had to find her. Pitch had nearly killed Jack before. Jack was afraid he'd hurt Lifa, too.

Jack had nearly missed her. She was just a small figure, stumbling around the forest and looking around frantically. But Jack descended to the earth, stopping behind her. "Lifa! You're okay! What happened?" he ran up behind her. But Lifa didn't react. Not to his voice, or the sound of his feet against the earth. "Liffy, hey, talk to me." He said again. Lifa still kept moving ahead. Jack ran forward and placed his hand on her shoulder hesitantly. Lifa cried out in surprise, and seized his wrist, judo flipping him. Jack grunted when he hit the ground, and lay there, dazed. Lifa blinked rapidly, not quite understanding. Jack noticed tremors running through her body, and he wondered if she was in shock.

"Lifa, what happened to you? Why-" Jack stopped. He saw the blood shining in the moonlight, clotting in her hair and running down her neck. Her ears were bleeding. "You're deaf…" Jack whispered, in sudden clarity. "Y-you can't hear a thing…" Lifa just stared at him, trying to make out what he was saying from his lips. But she just shivered and covered her face, trying desperately to calm down. But she couldn't. She hyperventilated, feeling as if she could not get enough air. Jack gently took her hands away from her face. Lifa flinched when his cold hands closed over hers, the chilly sensation unwelcome. "It's alright," he mouthed the words carefully, "You are going to b-" he stopped. And sighed. He raised his hands and began signing the words, _You are safe. Can you speak sign_ _language?_ Lifa stared at him, her mouth agape, and nodded, vigorously, relieved. Jack, however, felt incredibly sad. He didn't understand why. Sometimes, he just felt emotions at random, and then later, another memory would rush back and he'd realize why he'd felt that way. And how did he know sign language? It was just flowing naturally. Maybe this was the same case. Jack shook those thoughts away. They were not important right now. He began signing again, _Good_.

_I will take you some where safe_. He closed his hands in fists, holding one over the other and drawing his arms apart to sign the last word, "safe". Jack was going to have to ask a certain kangaroo for a big favor.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N:_**HEY THIS IS IMPORTANT READ IT PLEASE THANK YOU.**_

Hey guys, throwing in a bit of a plot change here. Instead of Lifa being Hiccup's ANCESTOR, she's going to be his DAUGHTER, in the future, and Hiccup is the one who told her about Jokul Frosti. Therefore, instead of Lifa Eir Hiccup Haddock the First, she's Lifa Eir Hiccup Haddock the Fourth. However, this is going to be chronological order, and since Jack is from the 1700's, he wasn't around during Hiccup's time period, but Jack having vague memories of him will have a reason I shall reveal later, so Hiccup and Jack's friendship won't be absent from the story. Some Brave (the Clans) will be mentioned later. Yes, I am a Big Four fan. Rapunzel, sadly, doesn't fit into the story here. (I'm sorry, Punzie, you're such a sweetheart but you aren't in this story) I will write about Lifa's life in a separate fanfic, soon. It will be a HTTYD fanfic, not ROTG.

This story is supposed to still have Jack as the main character, so I don't want to throw in flashbacks for Lifa. And throughout the story, Jack does NOT have all his memories, just the ones he got in the movie, and some little ones that link together his general identity. I like the idea of them still gradually coming back, through his dreams, or sudden triggers that cause flashbacks. I intend this chapter to be very long, and brace yourselves for Jack and Bunny fluff/feelings and angst. (No, not romantic pairing. I do not do romance. It's more like a Brotherly/and-or father/son relationship. Or wingman, whatever you want to call it)

As you may have noticed, I have edited the previous chapters a little bit to fit Lifa's character edit in there. Also, more reviews are appreciated (personal thanks to all the darling people out there who already review) and if you want, you can all message me who you want to be Lifa's mother. Of course, it's most likely Astrid. Hell, throw in anyone. Merida, however, is not an option. I will take an OC! The OC would have preferred black hair or blond hair, according to Lifa's older brother. His character description can have either blond or black hair, sea colored eyes, and fair skin. You may come up with a different description for him, though. Remember, Hiccup IS the father. (plot reasons rule out Merida) All shall be revealed throughout the plot. I plan on complicating things a bit, and having the plot get better and thicker. There are mentions of religion (Jack's past, being raised a Christian) in this chapter. And for all you Pitch-lovers out there, Pitch will get a time to shine, soon. Now, for my borrowed catch phrase, ALONS-Y!

Several hours after take-off, Lifa and Jack touched down back to the earth in the Outback of Australia. Jack tugged at the collar of his hoody, stifled by the heat. Lifa folded her hands behind her back in the _at-ease_military style, like she usually did when she didn't have anything to do, and peered at him with an expression saying, _Is something wrong?_

Jack smiled at her reassuringly, and mouthed, _Watch this._Twirling his staff expertly in his hand for stage presentation, Jack raised it over his head, and brought it down fast, and sure. Ice shot out from where the wood met with the dirt, and the wind picked up to a howl, chilling the air. Clouds thickened overhead, and snow swirled, making visibility only about three feet. Jack smiled proudly at the blizzard. He turned to Lifa, and his smile faded. Lifa was shivering uncontrollably, and looked particularly grumpy. Jack remembered Lifa hated being cold. So, he signed to her, "It won't last long." Lifa just scowled at him, and popped the collar of her worn, brown coat up to shield her face against the wind. Jack felt a pang of guilt. Lifa was the sun itself. Warmth and light, in a human body. He understood that the feeling of cold was just as discomforting for her as the sensation of heat was for him. Now that Jack thought about it, they were polar opposites. How could they be friends if the-

"_FROST!"_

Lifa and Jack both jumped in surprise, and turned in unison to see a very frosty, very angry Pooka marching towards them, a hole in the ground closing up behind him. "Yer in for it now!" Jack flew backwards, "Bunny, wait! I was just trying to get y-" but Jack never got to finish the sentence. He ducked to avoid an egg grenade heading for his head. "Hey! Would you just listen?"

Bunny growled out more heavily-accented threats, "A bloody snow storm! In _Australia._Are ya off yer rocker, Frost?! I have had enough of you!" he lunged for Jack, who yelped and began flying around in circles, and figure eights, pursued by Bunnymund. Lifa laughed from behind them, witnessing the spectacle. Bunny stopped and looked at her, noticing Lifa for the first time. "Hey, Sunny. What are you doing in the Outback?"

Lifa frowned and looked at Jack for help. Jack landed on the ground between her and bunny, and began signing what Bunny had said to her. Bunnymund stared at the exchange. "Oi, Frostbite. Is she…?" Jack finished signing and looked at Bunny, sadly, nodding. "Deaf. Yeah. I started the blizzard to get your attention, because I don't know where the Warren is. Can she stay there? Her house is sort of…trashed."

E. Aster Bunnymund just gazed at him, ears twitching. That was really the only sign that he'd heard Jack. Shaking his head, he finally came up with a response, "Well, if she really has to, yeah. And next time, just ask North to give ya a ride. I ain't tellin' ya where the Warren is, though. You'll never give me peace."

Jack smiled and turned to Lifa, signing her the good news. Her signature, lopsided smile spread over her freckled face. Bunnymund tapped the ground with his foot, opening up the tunnel. Jack took hold of Lifa's hand and pulled her over. Lifa looked annoyed with being lead around. She was deaf, not blind. And she also hated the feeling of Jack's hand on hers, cold skin against warm. Unnatural, and unpleasant. Bunnymund muttered, "How the hell did I get stuck with babysittin' you two?" Jack smiled as they entered the tunnel, and started on their way to Lifa's new safe haven.

One tunnel-walk later~

It was late at night by the time they got there. Lifa looked ready to drop on the ground and pass out, when the sun had gone down. Jack wondered if her energy was linked to how long the sun was in the sky. Probably, he decided. After all, he was strongest in the winter season. After Bunny sorted out a room and bed for her, and Lifa had gone to sleep, Bunny sat in the garden, painting eggs. Jack sat and watched silently. He wondered how Bunny could do that, with paws. Hold the eggs without smudging the paint, get the coating even, and all that. Jack HAD tried painting once, thinking it was easy. However, the color was splotchy and uneven, and finger prints had been left all over the poor egglet. Bunnymund laughed at him for weeks after that. Jack was no painter, they'd all discovered.

"Hey, Frostbite."

Jack looked up, "Hm? Yeah, what is it?"

Bunny put down the paint brushes. "I was just thinkin'. Where did ya learn sign language?"

"Oh," Jack ran his hand over his hair, "Um, when I was human, actually. My Pa was deaf. He got ear infections when I was nine, after getting stuck in some freezing rain, and was deaf since. So, I asked around town if anyone knew sign language. Our Pastor did, actually. He taught me, so I taught my father. Eventually, we got pretty good at it. Momma and Emma weren't very good at it, though. But Emma was just starting to learn then."

Bunny pondered this. "So Emma was yer sister. And ya had a Pastor? Did ya grow up Christian?"

Jack frowned, "I'm still Christian. Yes, I grew up like that. Went to Sunday School, and the service, every week. Baptized, and everything."

Bunny just stared at him, "Jack…yer still a Christian? Even now, like…like ya are?"

Jack shrugged, "I don't mean like I used to be. Yeah, my faith wavers a bit. A hundred years alone does that. Man-in-moon is kind of like your guy's God, I get that. But after I got my memories back, I realized why I didn't look at him like that. I still had my faith from when I was human. No, I didn't walk around wearing a cross anymore or pray every night before bed. But I still had the question that Manny created us, but who created Manny? That's sort of my reason…you know, for believing there is a God. And hey, he must be a nice guy if I have a family again. He must not hate me."

Bunnymund was shocked. Jack was religious? In a sense, at least. But still, the words "My faith wavers a bit. A hundred years alone does that." Hit him like a punch in the gut. The Guardians felt horrible about neglecting Jack, every time they thought of it. But the fact that it took a toll on his _faith,_something everyone should respect, even if they didn't understand it, that was totally different. They all used to be someone else, and have their own religions. Manny was sort of their higher power now. But Jack had, no, _has_a God he believes in. Even if just a little.

"Hey, Kangaroo. You're staring at me. It's making me uncomfortable."

Bunny blinked, "Uh…sorry, mate. Didn't mean to. I just didn't see ya as the religious type."

Jack shook his head, "I'm not really that involved. It's not like it's my whole life. I actually hardly think about it. Almost never."

Bunny relaxed. So it wasn't that big of a deal after all. Jack wasn't hurt or scarred by this. He was just fine. "Hey, Frostbite, ya wanna try paintin' an egg?"

"Nah, I'm not a painter, Kangaroo. I'll leave the brushes to you."

Bunny chuckled, "Yeah, you're no artist, that's for sure. That poor egglet."

Jack frowned and crossed his arms, "I am an artist. Do you not notice frost patterns? And that no snowflake has a twin? That's my work, you know. And I did carve wood, when I was human. Well, actually, I was pretty crappy at it. Pa was the best, and he made a living off of it. I don't remember much about him, though."

Bunny looked at him, "Not all your memories are back, eh?"

Jack nodded, "A few come back in my dreams. I don't sleep much, but if it means getting them back, fine. Speaking of which, got a place I can bunk for the night? I kind of can't leave. I'm Lifa's translator."

Bunny thought for a minute. "Why don't ya build some snow drifts and sleep there? Isn't that what ya usually do? I won't pester you if it's just this once."

Jack stood up. "Alright. G'night, Kangaroo." Bunny grunted a "Good night" back at him, as he returned to painting eggs. Jack walked to the far side of the Warren, where it was just grass, and a group of lilac trees. Jack liked the smell. Clean ice, and fresh snow, and crisp air, fantastic. He loved winter smells and sights. But still, Spring was a nice change. The colors and smells were intriguing. After building a three foot deep, circular snow drift that was eight feet in diameter, he burrowed into the snow, until only the top of his head and face peaked out. After a long, eventful night, and then day without rest, Jack fell asleep almost immediately.

_Eleven year old Jack still had his face pressed against the cold, glass window pane. Rain droplets pounded against it, and the wind rattled the glass. Jack could barely see outside, but he still watched for Papa's figure at the end of the road. It was past nightfall, and he should have been home hours ago. He'd left yesterday, and was expected to be home that afternoon, but he wasn't. Tomorrow was Easter. Jack shifted uncomfortably on the hard wood of the window sill. His entire house was mostly wood, with some brick making the chimney and fireplace. It was a two level home, with an attic on the top floor to store everything on one side, and Jack and Emma's bed and chest of belongings on the other. His parents, and the kitchen and living room were all on the first floor. It was a good, sturdy house._

_ "Jackie, you're still here? I thought you went to bed."_

_Jack jumped in surprise, and turned to see his mother kneeling down to eye-level with him, her hazel eyes worried. She had thick honey-brown hair and she always tied back the top layer with a worn out blue ribbon, to keep it out of her eyes. The rest she wore down and she had a kind, freckled face, and smile-lines around her eyes. Jack shook his head, "I'm not tired. I'm waiting for Papa."_

_Momma sighed, deciding it was pointless to try and get the boy to go to sleep, "Alright, come here." She sat down on the window sill, and pulled Jack close to her, and joined him in the vigil. "He'll come home. Don't you worry, Jackie," she murmured, running her fingers through his unruly hair, "He'll be home tomorrow to take you on the Egg Hunt. Emma is old enough to come with you now, too. Won't that be fun?"_

_ Jack nodded, laying his head against his mother's shoulder, grateful for the warmth. The icy sheets assaulted the exterior of their home, and the wind howled outside. Jack was glad there was no thunder. Emma hated it, and he wasn't too fond of it, either. It made him feel small, and vulnerable. "Momma, what if he's stuck in the storm?"_

_ Her hand didn't stop stroking his hair. "Then he has his cloak to keep him dry, and his wits to get him home. Your Papa is going to be just fine."_

_ Jack didn't argue, because he didn't want to. He just snuggled closer to his mother, and closed his eyes. Momma hummed quietly, the pleasant tune and soothing feeling of her fingers of his hair lulling him to sleep. Jack's anxiety melted away. Almost all of it, at least. But that painful, aching worry in the pit of his stomach stayed._

_**One hour later**_

_The door downstairs burst open, and freezing rain and wind rushes into the house, stealing the warmth. Jack jolted awake, in his bed, next to Emma, who mumbled grumpily at Jack for shaking the entire bed. Momma must have carried him up to bed earlier. "Sorry," he said to Emma quickly, hopping out of bed. He gasped when his bare feet hit the cold floor. Rushing down stairs in his loose, white sleep-shirt and brown trousers, he stopped at the sight he saw._

_ His father had come home, but was absolutely soaked to the bone. Beaten bloody, his bag gone. Not even shoes left. Momma was trying to help him to his feet, but he just couldn't stand. All his energy was spent trying to get home._

_ Jack shook his head, realizing Momma had been shouting at him. "Jack, help me!" Jack shook his head, and ran forward, taking his father's arm. Up close, he saw his father's lips were blue from the cold, his face bruising, eye swelling and blood was trickling for a cut above his eye. Jack shuddered. He hated blood. Jack and his mother helped his father across the room, and lay him down on the bed. While Momma went to fetch dry clothes, and boil the kettle, Jack took off his father's cloak for him, and hung it by the stove to dry._

_ Jack waited in his room, calming Emma down, while his mother took care of his father. "It's okay, Em. Papa's fine. He's home now, go back to sleep…"_

_ "Jackie, come down stairs."_

_After getting Emma to go back to sleep, Jack ran quietly down the stairs and stopped in front of his mother. She knelt down, "Jackie, I need you to talk to him. I can't…can you look after him? I'm going up the road to ask the Singer family for help. Can you do that, sweetie?"_

_ Jack forced himself to stop shivering, and nodded. "Yes, Momma. I can."_

_"Good boy," his mother kissed him on the top of his head, and quickly bundled up to leave, "I'll be a few hours. Be a big boy, and take care of him." She said, as she left. At least the storm had finally subsided._

_ Jack took his father's now-dry cloak and laid it over him, as an extra blanket. He sat by his father's bedside, changing the cloth on his forehead whenever the fever heated it up, and arranging the pillows properly. How did he get so beaten and bruised? Where were his belongings?_

_ Jack lifted his head when he heard a groan, and saw his father, sitting up and shaking his head. He blinked blearily and gazed at his son. He sluggishly signed with his hands, "Are you okay?"_

_ Jack's mouth dropped open. Why on earth was he asking if HE was okay? He nodded in response to say he was fine, and asked his father was happened._

_ The response Jack got shocked him. As he watched his father's hands, signing out the events that put him in that state, he felt angrier and angrier. He'd been robbed. Men attacked him on the road, took his belongings, beat him and then left him for dead. But before is father could finish telling the story, he lurched forward, coughing and gagging. Jack panicked, and pounded his father's hand against his back, hoping it would help. Of course, it didn't._

_ When his father finally stopped coughing, he pulled his hand away from his mouth, and wiped it on the quilt, hoping Jack wouldn't see the red. But he did. Jack just stood back, silent, not knowing what to do. So, he pointed at his father's chest, and signed the question, "Broken?"_

_ His father just smiled at him weakly, and ignoring the pain, he reached out and rested his hand on the top of Jack's head. It was always that, "It's going to be okay" message. Jack could only sit there. What could he, a child, do about broken ribs and a rising fever? His father could be gone soon. The anchor of their whole lives, gone. Jack closed his eyes, not wanting to think about it. He shut those fears out._

_ Jack realized his father's hand wasn't on his head anymore, and when he opened his eyes, his father was laying down again, asleep. Jack smiled. At least he could be well rested. Maybe he could still take him to the Egg Hunt tomorrow. Jack climbed onto the bed and curled up next to his father. He wouldn't leave him, not even when his mother came back with help._

_**Two hours later, Morning, Easter Sunday-**_

_Jack blinked his eyes open. He was still laying next to his father but…something was wrong. Jack felt cold. Why was he cold? He was laying next to his father, another person, a warm, living body. Warm and living…_

_ Jack gasped, and sat bolt upright, and began shaking his father, "Papa! PAPA! Wake up!" he began screaming, even though he knew full well his father wouldn't have been able to hear. He clenched his fists in his father's shirt, shaking him nonstop. "WAKE UP! PAPA! Please, it's Easter today! Th-the Egg Hunt a-and Emma is…is c-coming now…Every Easter!" Jack shouted, "Every Easter, you promise to take me, and you do, you can't break a promise!" he slowly stopped shaking his father, who's eyes remained -closed. "Y-you've never broken a p-promise…" he whispered. "Please don't leave me. "_

_ Jack curled up next to his father, and cried. He wailed, hiccupped, and sobbed until his voice was hoarse, and he shivered with exhaustion. Jack didn't know what else he could do. How had his father died, when he was right there next to him? Why would he slip away silently, and leave him? Why would he do it on_Easter Sunday_, of all the days in the year?_

_ Jack's mother came home, followed by the town's physician, "Jackie, Honey, I'm back wi- JACKSON!" She screamed, taking in the sight of her dead husband and sobbing son. Emma was wandering down the stairs, curious about the commotion. She was too young to understand what horrible thing had just happened. rushed over, and pulled Jack off the bed. Jack fought back, screaming, "NO! NO, LET ME GO! HE NEEDS ME!" he closed his fists around his father's cloak, and it came off as Jack was pulled away. Jack clutched the heavy, brown cloak for dear life._

_ She hugged her son tightly, unable to hold back tears anymore. "I'm so sorry, baby, he's gone…Papa is gone now. I'm so, so, sorry." Three year old Emma began to cry when Jack had started screaming. Jack clung to his mother, no longer fighting back. He didn't have any tears left. All he could do was hiccup, whimper and tremble. His mother beckoned Emma into the hug, and sat there, holding her children. The town physician removed his hat, and said quietly, "Mrs. Overland, I'll go fetch Pastor Crowley…Happy Easter." He added, as he left._

_ Jack's sobs returned, and he clutched his father's cloak against his chest, as if it was the most precious thing in the world. He choked out the only words he would say before he became silent for the next few months, "I-I..I_hate_Easter! I hate it! I HATE-" his voice cracked and he could say no more. It wouldn't matter._

_ Jack Overland became a child who had gone mute from grief, walked around wearing his father's cloak when it was far too big for his scrawny form, and the only child in the town of Burgess who hated Easter with every fiber of his being._

Jack sat bolt upright, snow falling off of him as he did. He realized he was crying, the tears frozen on his face. Some of them fell, others froze and became tiny hailstones. His chest heaved while he gasped, trying to calm himself down. He wanted to break down and cry, like he had in his flashback, just to find a way for all his hatred and grief to find it's way out. It was sheer agony, worse than the horrible, broken sensation when Pitch had broken his staff. Jack Frost felt like dying. Finally, he found his voice, and he screamed at the top of his lungs. Loud, pained, and grieved. His voice cracked and he curled up in the snow drift again, his hands over his ears. He let out a dry sob.

"Bloody hell, Frost! What is wrong with ya?"

Jack went rigid, and his cerulean blue eyes went even wider than before. "B-Bunny…?"

"Yeah, it's me mate. What the hell were ya screamin' for? Are you hurt or something?" Bunny reached out and took Jack by his shoulders, pulling him into sitting position. Jack kept his head down, his silvery white hair blocking his facial expression. Bunny frowned disapprovingly. "Out with it. What's eatin' ya?"

Jack mumbled something incoherently, that Bunny didn't catch. "Sorry, try again, Snowflake."

Jack did try again. "I…I ha…"

Bunny shook Jack lightly, "Look at me. One more try, come on."

Jack's head snapped up, his teeth bared in a snarl and his eyes narrowed. "_I HATE YOU!"_

Bunny was so surprised he let go of Jack, and stepped back, "What're y-"

Jack surged to his feet, swinging his staff around and hitting Bunny in the side of the head with the curved end. Jack was stronger than he looked, but he had to swing high to hit Bunnymund in the head, meaning he didn't have as much strength as he could with an opponent his size. Bunny was spared the trouble of being knocked unconscious. But this wasn't an opponent. This was Bunny, his friend, colleague. But even so, it sent Bunny careening onto the ground. In seconds, Jack was on top of him, his staff pressed against his throat. "_I hate you!"_Jack repeated, his voice twisted from his internal agony.

It broke Bunny's heart, seeing the kid like that. What the hell did he dream about that made him like this? Why was he crying? "Frostbite, calm down. Just talk to m-"

"NO! I don't want to talk to you! Why the hell would I- SCREW YOU!" Jack pushed his staff forward, making it a little harder for Bunny to breathe. "I HATE YOU, AND I HATE EASTER! I ALWAYS HAVE! EVER SINCE…" Jack faltered. "E-ever since…Oh, God." Jack stumbled backwards, releasing Bunny, and fell to his knees in the grass, sobbing, covering his face with his hands. "Ever since P-Papa d-di-died…"

Bunny was speechless. Getting to his feet, he crept over to Jack hesitantly, as if he might shatter if Bunny so much as breathed too loud. "Frostbite."

Jack didn't uncover his face.

"Frost. Look at me."

Jack's sobs quieted, and he just grunted quietly in response. At least he heard Bunny.

"Jack, please. Don't take this on your own. Ya gotta talk to me," Bunny gently grabbed Jack's wrists and lowered his hands from his face. "Please tell me. What memory came back? What…What happened to your Da?"

Jack finally looked up at Bunny, his bloodshot, blue eyes full of frozen tears. He scrutinized Bunny's facial expression. Bunny was concerned, worried,_scared_for him. Jack's glare hardened. "I don't want to talk to you," he snarled, standing up and holding his staff in front of him defensively. The wind began to pick up, buffeting Bunny away from Jack. The wind knew Jack was hurting, and he had just screamed that he hated him. All the wind could think of to do was keep Bunny away from Jack.

Jack slammed his staff into the ground, creating a full blown blizzard. "I DON'T WANT ANYTHING TO DO WITH YOU!"

Bunny staggered away from Jack, keeping his distance. He couldn't stand the wind and. It would kill him before he could talk to Jack. That didn't mean he wasn't going to above the wind, Bunny tried to get Jack's attention. "Frostb- JACK! JACK, YOU NEED TO CALM DOWN. YOU'LL HURT YOURSELF IF YA KEEP THIS UP."

Bunny was right. Jack was leaning forward, using his staff for support, and his chest was heaving. He couldn't get enough air. His eyes were glazed and unfocused. All his emotions were pulling out his powers by force, and releasing them into the air. Jack couldn't control it, and it was draining all of his energy. His head and chest ached.

Jack lifted his head to gaze at Bunny, fear written across his face. "I-I can't…I can't stop…"

Bunny shook his head, "Yes, you can! Just ask the wind to stop, it'll be easy…" Bunny coaxed. Jack closed his eyes, his brown furrowing while he tried to think straight thoughts. Gradually, the wind died down, until only heavy snow was falling. Bunny took that as his chance to run forward and took Jack by his shoulders,shaking him gently, "Are you alright, Frost?"

Jack's head lolled lightly as Bunny shook him. His eyes were half closed, unfocused. He mumbled something incoherently, and slumped forward in exhaustion, his staff clattering out of his hands.

"Oi, stay awake." Bunny shook Jack again, jolting him out of his stupor. "I know that took it out of ya, but don't black out on me."

As if to completely disregard everything Bunny had said, Jack groaned, his knees buckled and he went limp as a puppet who's strings had been cut. Bunny barely caught him in time. "And of course, ya go and do that…" Bunny grumbled, laying Jack down in the snow-covered grass. He'd gone from the Winter Spirit having a raging, freezing emotional breakdown to an exhausted child that someone was going to have to carry to bed, and tuck in. Bunnymund sat down next to Jack, and ran his paw over the boy's hair, smoothing it down. After the wind had been raging it around, his hair now stuck in all directions. Bunny smiled a little.

Bunny couldn't believe that this kid had done all that damage. He shook his head. It wasn't his fault. Whatever he'd dreamed about was probably tearing the poor kid's heart apart. Bunny had never been particularly fond of the Winter Spirit, but Jack was a child. And Bunny had come to notice that Jack's usual rude, trickster exterior was just a facade. Jack hated being alone, but he refused to admit that those three hundred years of solitude had done anything to hurt him. Why couldn't he just admit that he needed help? That it was okay to depend on someone? Or was he afraid to?

Regardless, Jack was a child, and would always be a child, at heart. A child needs reassurance, security, and (_Damn it all_, Bunny thought right then) most of all, they need to be loved. Who did that for Jack? Three hundred years, a child with no mother to admit his fears to or no father to praise him, no one to sit close to when the days were gloomy, no one to tell him "G'night, I love you, see you in the mornin'!". Jack had none of that.

Bunny watched as Jack shifted in his sleep, and turn over, hiding his face in the snow, seeking reassurance from his element. But not even that could help him right now. Bunny sighed, and gathered Jack into a hug, brushing snow out of his hair, and cradling him. "It'll be okay, Snowflake."

It scared the living daylights out of Bunny when Jack mumbled, "I'm sorry…didn't mean it." Bunny recovered, "You're awake! Didn't mean what?"

Jack's shoulders shivered, and he sniffled loudly. A hiccup followed. No tears this time, because he had cried himself dry. Still, quiet sobs escaped. "I-I don't hate you. I'm sorry…about the blizzard. I killed all the flowers…"

"Nah, mate. A little frost won't kill 'em. They'll be okay. But what about you, kid? You okay?"

"No! I'm not! Why the hell would I be?!" Jack tensed, and tried to push Bunny away, to get him to stop hugging him. "Damn you, kangaroo!"

Bunny decided to let him go. "Hey! Watch your language, Frostbite. And I'm wondering the same thing. Why aren't you okay? What happened?"

Jack didn't want to tell Bunny about Papa. Not what had happened, and why he hated Easter. But he didn't want to make up an excuse for his reactions, either. What excuse could there be? Jack caved, and took a deep breath. "I remembered my father's death."

Bunny breathed in sharply, immediately picking up on the tone in Jack's voice, signaling this was shaky ground. Remaining silent, Jack went on, "H-He died…he went into town two days before Easter Sunday, to trade his wood carvings, like he did every year. It was a non-stop storm of freezing rain that day. He always came back the afternoon of the next day. But he didn't get back until the middle of the night…He'd been mugged, and left in the storm for dead. He made it home, but…he died the next morning. I-I'd fallen asleep…next to him, in the same bed, because I couldn't leave him, a-and he _died right next to me._Who the hell would beat and rob a deaf man?! What kind of cowardly bastard would do that?!"

Bunny frowned at Jack's foul language, but left it alone. "Definitely cowards, Jack…your old man didn't deserve that. Neither did you…" he swallowed, debating his options. He continued, "So your old man died on Easter morning?"

Jack looked away from him, nodding. "Yeah…you know, he took me on the Egg Hunt…every single year. Not once did he not go. He promised he'd never back out on me. And believe me, I loved Easter! It was my favorite! I got to spend a whole day with Papa, no chores or anything, just outside, all day, having fun." Jack smiled, and Bunny eased a little bit. But then Jack's smile shattered. "After he died…I was the only kid in town who didn't have a father to take them out on the Egg Hunt…or to teach him to shoot a rifle, or hunting…I always got made fun of by the other boys in town, because my father was deaf. I never cared when he was alive, but after he died, they still mocked him, and…well, I got named the village peace-wrecker because all the fights I got in."

Bunny frowned. Peace-wrecker could be a good label for Jack, for being a prankster, but being labeled it for throwing punches at a few brats for having a go at his old man displeased the Pooka. The brats probably deserved a good sucker-punch. Jack kept going, "A-and the worst part of it is…they made fun of me for…for being mute."

Bunny was instantly on high alert, "You were a _mute?!_"

Jack's eyebrows furrowed, as if he was a little confused. "Well…I could speak. I knew how and everything, and I was really chatty up until Papa died…I was mute for…I don't know how long after that. I mean, I couldn't speak to my father! He was deaf, I used sign language! I didn't want to talk after he was gone, So I didn't…I never went another Egg Hunt, either. I never even left the house on Easter."

Jack fell silent, and Bunnymund realized he was finished his confession. Easter was five days away. Bunny couldn't imagine how he was feeling. Thinking long and hard about what to say, Bunny finally broke the silence. Reaching out, his ruffled Jack's white hair. Jack grunted in protest, "Hey! What was that for?"

Bunny cracked a smile at him. "I'm guessin' ya won't want t' go and hunt for eggs five days from now. But how about you help me hide them instead? I'll even let ya pick out some paint designs for 'em."

Jack didn't know what to say. He'd never hidden eggs or decorated them. And the idea did sound, well, _fun. _Who was he to pass up an opportunity of entertainment? To Bunny's relief, a grin broke out across his face. "Bunny, that would be awesome!"

Bunny stood up, his twitching. The sky had turned pink, and the sun was rising. They'd been dealing with this emotional-roller-coaster since…Six in the morning? It must have been seven now. Bunny's ears twitched, picking up faint noises on the far side of the Warren. Lifa was waking up, probably. She did rise with the sun. Jack stood up, too. "Oh…sun's up…I'm sorry, Bunny, I didn't mean to keep you awa- GAH!"

Ignoring Jack's cry of surprise and indignence, Bunnymund pulled the boy into a tight hug, crushing him against his chest. "I'm glad yer okay, Frostbite."

Jack stiffened, unsure of how to respond. He didn't know what to say, or if he could say anything at all. He wasn't used to social contact like this, especially from the Easter Kangaroo, who showed outward affection to barely anyone. He shakily raised his arms, and hesitated. Then, he returned the hug, relaxing. It felt good, comforting, safe…and a sense of release came with it. It reminded him of being hugged by his father. Bunny was so much taller and bigger than him, like his father, that the hug felt no different, except for the fur.

Bunny was glad when Jack returned the hug. That was something like a break through, in his mind. What was he, Jack's therapist? In a way, it seemed, yes, he was. More like a grief counselor. Still, Bunny thought maybe he should give the poor kid hugs more often. With more memories waiting to return, he was probably going to need them.

**Wow, I changed the ending of this about four times. I'm mostly happy with it. I'm feel like Jack talking about his memory coming back, and what it was about was sloppy, though. Anyone up for reviewing it/giving me suggestions? Anywho, I'm starting right away on the next chapter. There will be a time skip (for the sake of nothing eventful happening) to Easter. After that chapter, my…darker colors will show. For those of you who are uncomfortable will bloodshed/gore/torture, I will place an A/N before that to warn you of its contents and recap anything important, so you can skip the chapter. **

**Thanks for reading! And have a lovely Easter!**


	9. Chapter 9

It had been four days since Jack and Bunny's talk. Over the days, Lifa helped in the garden, and painted eggs with almost as much skill as Bunny could. She climbed the trees, and hung upside down, and Jack followed suit. Bunny would wake up in the morning to find the two teenagers hanging upside from a cherry tree, laughing, and faces tomato-red from the blood rushing to their heads. More than once, Lifa "accidentally" knocked Jack off the branch, and failed to catch him as he fell head-first to the ground.

Lifa and Jack were quickly becoming friends, and Bunny was hating it as much as he expected he would. The term "partners-in-crime" suited the duo well. They terrorized egglets, ran around pell-mell chasing each other with violent intentions (meaning, Lifa chasing Jack and Jack hoping to God he was fast enough), battled each other, argued via sign-language, and Lifa's particular favorite, a game of "Say Uncle". It truly was the playground version of torture, and Lifa always won. And of course, there were the April showers. Lifa wasn't fond of rain, because the clouds blocked the sun, but Jack wanted to find a way to cheer her up, like finding a way to have fun with the rain.

He did so by throwing a hand full of mud in her face.

Thus, the mud-wars began, and Bunny was unfortunate enough to get caught in between. Several times, he made them park their butts in opposite ends of the Warren for time-outs, and twice he caught them signaling at each other from their spots, like jailmates. He'd cuffed them both in the head for it.

But it was certainly more fun than he'd had in a while, when preparing for Easter. Lifa was able to crank out well-painted eggs by the dozens, and Jack was happy to be her helper. Handing her the right brushes and paints, getting her more egglets, snacks, and the like. He seemed content with the arrangement. At least it would give him something to do that kept him out of most trouble he caused. Bunny felt relieved that his dislike for the Easter holiday was being resolved.

Another happy discovery for Jack was that Lifa would not have to remain deaf. After a quick flash-light and scope in each ear, Bunny pronounced that her eardrums would repair themselves. Of course, a solution would need to be applied daily and constant check-ups were required to ensure a full recovery. But Jack had been overjoyed to hear that, and immediately began signing the words so fast to her, Lifa went cross eyed, and had to ask him to repeat it. To celebrate, they decided to have a feast, meaning they ate all the ripe berries in the garden. By the end of it, they hands and faces were stained red, and purple with berry juice.

On the day before Easter, Lifa and Bunny came up to Jack, who'd been freezing the rivers of dye, and marveling at the colorful ice. "Well, go on." Bunny nudged Lifa forward, and she blinked nervously. Jack turned to her, cocking his head in the question of _ what's up?_Lifa held out what appeared to be a colorful, woven basket. Small, square, with a lid. Jack looked at her and signed, "What's this for? Is it a present?"

Lifa nodded and shoved it into his hands. Bunnymund spoke, "She wanted to give ya a thank-you gift, for helpin' her."

"Oh…" he looked up at Lifa, who looked away awkwardly. Jack smiled, and took the lid off the basket. Inside, there was a miniature berry pie. Where the heck did she get berries after their feast fiasco? But the little pastry looked amazing, and it was definitely homemade. That aside, there were chocolate eggs and…a wooden Easter egg. Jack took it out of the back, his hand shaking a bit. _A wooden carving. Just like his father would have done._

"That one was my idea," Bunny commented quietly, "But Sunshine here made it."

The wood was a bright, dusty white, a little gray, and intricate frost patterns were carefully carved into it's surface. On the top, a snowflake. On each side, a small image of his staff. It was beautiful. Jack turned it over in his hand, and realized that it sparkled the palest color of blue. It was covered in a sheen of paint, giving it the same effect as moonlight on snow. He couldn't stop staring. Lifa had made _this?_Just for him?

He was about to sign thank-you to her, but instead, he clutched the carving in his fist, and pulled Lifa into a hug. She was so surprised she yelped, and went rigid as a board. All she did was pat his back. Not a huggable type. "I love it." He said, even though Lifa couldn't hear him.

He let go of her, and she cracked a lopsided-smile when she saw the over-whelming grin on Jack's face. How did such a big smile fit there? Bunny smiled, too. He was glad Lifa wasn't alone, and Jack loved the present. He was glad that Jack was alright, and he was coping with his grief far better than anyone could have thought. Bunny was just glad to have to two teenagers there. It reminded him of…

No. He didn't want to think about his clan. Not now. Bunny reached out and placed a paw on the head of each child-spirit and ruffled their hair affectionately, snowy white on the left, and chocolate brown on the right. Both of them grunted in complaint, and stumbled slightly. _They're both so small._Bunny thought.

"Well! I have good news, kiddies. Easter preparations are done! We can go and hide the eggs tonight!"

Jack, already signing along with Bunny's words, finished, and he and Lifa cheered in unison. "Hey, Bunny, can I hide my eggs in Burgess? Ya know, since Jamie and his gang will be there."

Bunny nodded, "I don't see why not. Take Sunshine and go get your stuff together, we're leavin' at sundown."

Bunny watched them run off, and smiled once again. He didn't mind babysitting after all.

Sundown-

"Bunnyyy! Come on!" Jack shouted from the clearing, jumping from foot to foot. Lifa was walking around in circles, anxious to go. Both of them had baskets in each hand of the eggs Lifa had made, Jack's designs included.

"I'm comin', Frostbite, keep yer pants on." Bunny griped, walked back from guiding the eggs into the tunnel. "You all ready to go?"

Lifa nodded. She was wearing her usual knee high, lace up leather boots. Sturdy foot wear, not barefoot like Jack. Her deep red hooded cloak was draped over her shoulders, the white-gold sun-shaped clasp holding it closed. It was almost ankle length, and covered her completely, giving her the appearance of a small, dark red bird. Bunny chuckled to himself. _She's certainly little like a bird._"Alright, let's hop to it!"

Jack smiled as he walked into the tunnels, "Nice pun, Kangaroo."

In Burgess-

When they arrived in Burgess, Jack was practically bursting with excitement, and Lifa was just smiling tiredly at him. The sun was down, which meant Lifa was being dragged away from her internal sleeping schedule. But she didn't want to miss out, so Bunny had caved and let her join in. Jack ran around, hiding eggs in the park, while Lifa walked around more slowly, carefully looking for places to hide them. When her basket was empty, she sat on a park picnic table, resting her elbows on her knees, and her chin in her hands. She watched Jack and Bunny work, her eyes half closed, and drowsy. Lifa yawned. Now she was wishing she could go to sleep.

Bunny turned and saw drowsy Lifa, who was tilting to the side, and then jolting awake. "Hey, Snowflake, come 'ere real quick." Bunny called Jack over.

Jack ran up to Bunny. "Yeah?"

"Do me a favor, and take Lifa back t' the Warren. She's ready t' drop, and we don't wanna have t' carry 'er back." Jack turned and saw her. Lifa noticed them looking and waved sluggishly. Jack nodded, "Yeah, she looks beat. I'll take care of it."

Bunny opened up a tunnel, while Jack lead Lifa back over. She yawned again. "This'll take ya straight to the Warren," Bunny explained, "It's a one-way road." Bunny still wasn't going to tell Jack where the Warren's specific location was. He was legitimately terrified of the pranks Jack would pull with that kind of information. And the Warren was magical, hidden. The term "between the lines" applied here, because it didn't quite obey the laws of physics. Neither did the tunnels, so neither did the Warren. "Look after Sunshine, okay?"

Jack smiled a bit. It seemed like Bunny had a nickname for everyone. "Right. Come on, Liffy." Jack jumped into the hole, and Lifa jumped down with him. Jack caught her, afraid she might not stick the landing, in her sleepy state. The hole closed up, and they disappeared from Bunny's sight, leaving him in the park. Bunny felt a pang of fear, and worry in his chest, now that he couldn't keep an eye on them. It'd only been four days, but he'd grown so attached to the kids. They were almost like his own, and he was not happy about letting them run off on their own. Bunny shook the thoughts away. The tunnels were safe, and so was the Warren. It was the safest place Bunny knew! Nothing could happen to them.

Nothing at all…

Jack and Lifa walked down the tunnel in silence. There wasn't anything they could say, since Lifa couldn't hear. But Jack could. A faint scratching noise sounded over their heads, and some dirt rained down, unnoticed by Lifa. Jack frowned. It was probably just some little critter, making a tunnel of their own. He kept walking. But then it came again, louder, more like a thumping noise.

Jack shuddered, feeling uneasy. He placed his hand on Lifa's shoulder, and walked faster, giving her the message to pick up the pace a little. Jack wasn't sure why he felt so out of sorts, but he wanted to get to the Warren as soon as possible.

Lifa frowned at him, her thin, dark eyebrows furrowing a bit. _What's wrong with you?_

Jack smiled reassuringly. Nothing was wrong. The tunnel opened up into the Warren, and Jack smiled. Lifa made a beeline to her room, and collapsed immediately on the bed. Jack followed, and when he saw she was already asleep, he smiled. It reminded him of his sister. They'd get home after a long day of adventuring, and she'd be all tuckered out. Jack unlaced Lifa's boots for her, and set them on the floor. Undoing the clasp of her cloak, he hung it up and pulled the blanket up to her chin. "Sleep tight, Liffy."

Jack stretched his hands over his head. Bunny must be done with the eggs by now. Jack stepped out of the room, and back into the Warren. Making the usual deep snowdrift, and burrowing into it, Jack sighed contentedly. The past few days had been wonderful. Lifa was his friend now. They were inseparable. Jack loved getting to know her, and he loved her smile and laugh, because it was contagious. But she also had the attention span of a four year old, and for a "warrior", she fell into the dye rivers a lot.

And then are was Bunny. He and Jack had never really gotten along, especially since '68. But after Jack's breakdown, Bunny had been kinder, gentler and even loving towards him. Bunny was acting like his father. Ever since Jack's breakdown, things were different between them. Jack didn't have to act like he was okay when he wasn't, and Bunny was just fine with the kid being social and opening up to him. Jack didn't want to think about how he would be dealing at the moment if Bunny hadn't been there to help him through his grief.

He curled up into a ball, and his grip on his staff relaxed. No more having to take the nights alone, no more being lonely…He thought maybe, tomorrow, he might go on an egg hunt…and maybe he'd ask Bunny if he could live in the Warren, with him and Lifa, from now on. Jack's thoughts began to drift, and thin. He closed his cerulean blue eyes, and decided to let those thoughts go, for now. Time to sleep.

Back in Burgess-

****Bunny had finished hiding all the eggs, and gazed around the park proudly. Easter was success once again. Bunny opened up another tunnel, eager to get back to Jack and Lifa. He didn't care how safe the Warren was, he'd promised himself that Jack and Lifa would not spend anymore nights alone. Running through the tunnel's, Bunny thought about a way to convince Jack to go on an egg hunt the next day.

Meanwhile, in the Warren, Jack was not getting a good sleep. He shuddered, and tossed and turned, mumbling. Jack was having a nightmare.

_In Jack's nightmare…_

_Jack plunged into the ice cold water. The water rushed past his ears, and he distant heard Emma scream, "JACK!" as he fell._

_Jack thrashed in the water, trying to swim, but he didn't know how. Seconds after he fell into the lake, his limbs went stiff and he froze up. It was so cold, his entire body went into shock. He looked up, and saw Emma over the hole in the ice._

_No, he thought, don't…don't fall in. Run home, Em…_

_He could hear her screaming, "Jack!JACKIE! Come back up! This isn't funny! JACKIE!"_

_The hole froze over again. That never happened. Jack knew it didn't. Suddenly, he regained control of his body, and pounded his fists against the ice. His sister was doing the same from the other side, but her cries were muffled. Jack began to weaken. Icy water filled his lungs, and his eyes drifted closed._

_The snapped open when he noticed a tall, dark man on the ice, looming over Emma. Emma turned, and Jack began pounding the ice again, pressing his face close to it, and his hands against it. Emma shrieked in pain and terror, and Jack could see nothing but red. Blood spattered all over the ice, and he heard the thud of his sister falling onto the surface. Jack screamed her name, and couldn't stop screaming. How was he screaming? He had no air! There was only water-_

__Jack gasped, feeling a sharp pain in his cheek from a dull blow. "For the love of MiM, Jack, WAKE UP!" Bunny shouted. Jack gasped, and wheezed, taking in the clean air. He hiccuped loudly, and his chest heaved as he held back sobs. "E-em…Emma…she…Oh god, Bunny, there w-was so m-mu-much b-blood!" Jack lurched forward, feeling like he was going to vomit.

"Hey-hey, calm down, Snowflake. Deep breaths." he held Jack by his shoulders, keeping him upright. Jack shook his head, choking. He was having a panic attack. "Jack, you need to breathe."

Jack gagged, and clapped a hand over his mouth and blurted out, "Gonna be sick!"

Bunny immediately turned him around and, let him lean forward. Sure enough, Jack retched and was very much sick. Even after he'd emptied the contents of his stomach, he shuddered and dry heaved for five minutes after the. Bunny rubbed and patted Jack's back, his ears flash against his skull with worry. "Ya all done now?"

Jack swallowed, and nodded. Bunny scooped some clean snow into his paw. "Eat some snow. It'll make ya feel better." Jack obeyed, and sat quietly, letting the snow melt on his tongue. It did help, and the fresh, coldness of it helped clear his head.

__"D'ya wanna tell me about it?" Bunny asked quietly.

Jack lifted his head, and he ended up coming eye-to-eye with Bunny. He looked so concerned for him. "Yeah…I-I…I had a nightmare…about my sister." he croaked. "S-she got hurt…She was trying to break through the ice, to get me out of the lake, and no matter how hard I tried, the ice wouldn't break. A-and then there was a man…behind her…I didn't know him. A-and then she screamed…"

Jack retched again, and Bunny rubbed his back again. "S'okay, mate…keep goin'."

Jack swallowed, and took a deep breath, "And then I couldn't see her anymore through the ice because i-it was c-co-covered in b-blood. Her blood! A-and I heard her f-fall on the ice, and I c-couldn't do a d-da-damn thing!"

He finally broke down, crying. He slammed his fist on the ground, "_That damn bastard slaughtered my baby sister and I did nothing!"_

Bunny immediately crushed Jack in a hug, and said quietly, "We really need to talk about your language, Snowflake. And it wasn't your fault. It was a nightmare. It didn't really happen. You know it didn't."

Jack clung to Bunny, clenching his hands in his fur. That probably wasn't comfortable for the Pooka, having his fur pulled. Still, he didn't have the heart to complain about it, not when the winter child was bawling in his arms.

"It wasn't your fault. It never happened," Bunny repeated, rocking Jack back and forth gently, as if he was just a toddler, "Your sis is just fine. No one hurt her." Jack sobbed, nodding. All he could do was nod. Maybe he was in shock. Bunny kept one arm behind his shoulders, holding him securely, and ran his other paw over his hair. "Shh, it's okay. It's over now. You don't have to be scared anymore, Jack."

Jack's sobs quieted soon after that. He blinked his eyes slowly. Bunny's paw stroking his hair was distracting enough for him to calm down, to stop thinking about the nightmare. He remembered his father doing this once, during a thunderstorm, when he was very little. The comforting feeling of his head being stroked always made him sleepy, even now, when he was technically a little over three hundred years old. Jack relaxed. Bunny was right. Emma was fine, that had never happened. He didn't have to worry, or be scared. Jack's eyes fluttered closed. "Thanks…Kangaroo…" he mumbled, before falling back asleep.

Bunny smiled a little. Jack was just fine. Tuckered out after all that mayhem, but now that his head was clear, he was fine. Bunny disentangled Jack's arms from his waist, he pick Jack up and walked across the Warren, to his own room. He lay Jack down in his own bed, and tucked the kid in. Taking a seat in a chair at the bedside, with the full intention of staying there the rest of the night, in case Jack had another nightmares. After about an hour, he called over an Egglet.

"Go tell the Guardian's Jack had a nightmare. Tell them we'll have to meet up at the Pole tomorrow. And…tell Sandy Sunny is going to be there." he told the Egglet. Watching it scamper off, Bunny turned to Jack. The kid was sound asleep. Bunny smiled, but then the smile quickly disappeared.

Nightmares. Why in MiM's name would Jack be having nightmares? Bunny could understand if he already did, but why were they suddenly so despicable that Jack would be screaming in his sleep? Bunny had come out of the tunnel, and the first thing he heard was the kid's earsplitting cry of terror. Jack screamed and fought against Bunny for twenty minutes before Bunny finally slugged him in the face, a last, but successful, resort to wake him up.

These were the kind of nightmares that scarred a person for life, that lurked in their mind forever. It couldn't be Pitch, definitely not. It was impossible for him to be strong enough. But Bunny knew for a fact that Fearlings can act independently, and when they do, they're even more vicious than they would be under Pitch's command. Bunny knew they could latch onto a person, and hide in their mind for decades, and then attack when they chose to. Was that Jack's case? In three hundred years alone, a Fearling could very well have become a parasite in his mind.

Bunny shook his head. That was unlikely. Fearlings haven't acted on their own since there were other Pooka clans. They haven't attacked independently since they wiped out the Pooka clans. That is, every Pooka except E. Aster Bunnymund. Maybe that was why he loved having Jack and Lifa living at the Warren. He missed his siblings, and his children. It was like having them back all over again. Jack and Lifa were immortal, so they would never grow up. Meaning, they would always need someone to look after them. Maybe not every day of their lives, but still…Bunny would be happy to be that someone.

Leaning back in the chair, he crossed his arms, and glanced around the room at the shadows. He could resolve this tomorrow, when he met up with the Guardians. He just hoped that the fact Lifa was coming along wouldn't cause any wars.


	10. Chapter 10

**This chapter contains foul language, including the f-bomb. Lifa swears like a truck driver. It's a character trait of hers. There is also a very bruised Jack as well. I apologize if anyone becomes offended, or disturbed.**

The next morning, Bunny and Lifa got up bright and early. It was almost noon when they were about to leave for the pole, and Jack was still asleep. While Bunny took care of the egglets, briefing them on what to do while he was gone, she slipped away and peaked into Jack's room to see if he was awake yet. He was not. Sprawled out over the bed, the blanket kicked onto the floor, his face buried in the pillow and snoring. Lifa snickered. _What a dork._

She tucked Jack's arm back against his side, so he wasn't hanging halfway off the bed, and rolled him over, to avoid the hazard of being smothered by his pillow. Pulling the blanket over him again, she placed a note on the desk next to the bed. Lifa quickly retreated, leaving Jack snoring.

"Ready to go, Sunshine?" Bunny asked, momentarily forgetting she was deaf.

"Yep. Let's get goin'." Lifa replied. Bunny stared at her in the pure image of shock. Lifa grinned that she-wolf like grin of hers. "What? I have a few tricks up m'sleeve. I soaked up so much sunlight in the last few days, I had 'nough juice to heal myself."

Bunny was amazed. "You can heal?"

Lifa nodded. "Yeah. It's like m'secret trick. Can we go n- Oomf!" Bunny clapped her on the back, grinning.

"You are full of surprises, Sunshine. Let's go." Bunny walked down the tunnel, and Lifa ran after him. "So, who am I goin' t' meet again?"

"The Guardians."

Lifa smiled. _Sounds like someone out of a book. _

"How come Jokul isn't comin'?" she asked, running ahead of him, and walking backwards, folding her arms behind her head as she did.

"Frostbite had a long night o' egg-hidin'. I thought we'd let 'im sleep." Bunny lied convincingly. Jack wouldn't want Lifa to know what had happened. Lifa said, "Ah," and pursued the subject no further.

Of course, Lifa asked her famous question, "Is there gonna be food there?"

Bunny laughed. "Yeah, Sunny. There'll be food."

**At the pole-**

As soon as Lifa and Bunny came out of the tunnel, both immediately cursed, and complained about the cold. How they both got along with Jack Frost was a mystery. When they got into the Pole, Lifa immediately ran around pell-mell with her own agenda, looking at everything, touching everything, and the like. Bunny went cross eyed trying to follow her. Suddenly, she was in front of him, holding an elf. "Bunny, we need t' give 'im a sock!"

"What? Whaddya wanna give 'im a sock for?"

Lifa's mouth dropped open and she looked at him, annoyed, "Do you seriously not know what I'm referencin'?"

Before Bunny could respond, he heard a all-too-familiar Russian accented voice bellow, "ASTER! WELCOME BACK!" Poor Sunshine jumped two feet in the air and dropped the elf, and immediately dove behind Bunny for cover. Bunny chuckled, but didn't move, not wanting to deprive her of her hiding spot. After all, Lifa was only 5"3. He was nearly seven feet tall. "Yeah, good to be back, North. Are the other's here?"

"Da, they are waiting in parlor. Who is dis?" he peered around Bunnymund at Lifa. Her facial expression read a clear message: _Oh dear lord in heaven, he's a giant._

"Sunshine here is a friend o' Jack's. He couldn't be here t'day, he needed a day off. Lots of naptime." Bunny put a hand on Lifa's shoulder and pushed her out from behind him. "Quit cowerin', Lifa. He's soft as a marshmallow."

"I doubt it," she muttered, and then squeaked in alarm when North leaned down to her eye-level and said, "Dobro pozhalovatʹ , yunaya ledi. It eez nice to meet you." He extended his hand to her.

Lifa blinked, and smiled, "Da! YA khorosho , spasibo. Vash dom zamechatelʹno!" she shook his hand. Hers was tiny, compared to his.

Bunny frowned. Lifa spoke Russian. Fluently. North looked surprised, and laughed loudly. "She said my home is "wonderful", Aster! Wonder! Jack has good taste in friends. Come, let's meet with others." North lead the way down the hall. Lifa took off sprinting in the hall towards the parlor, once again on her own agenda.

"North." Bunny lowered his voice. "You do know who she is, right? You remember? I know Manny just gave you all your memories of it back, but…" North held up his hand to silence Bunny, and spoke in a low voice, "I know very well who dis girl is. But she does not know herself. At moment, she ees Jack's friend, and she ees child. She committed no crime, and we are here to help her and Jack. I see no reason to be cold to dis girl."

North walked ahead, and called out to Lifa in Russian. Lifa had turned right at the end of the hall. Bunny saw her come back and sheepishly smile, and turned left instead. Bunny smiled. What had he been afraid of? Lifa was literally a ray of sunshine in the room. Even Jack was less annoying when she was around. North would love her, because she found as much wonder in everything as he did, _and _she spoke excellent Russian. Sandy and her would get along fine, since she could communicate just as well silently as he could, and Lifa had good teeth, so Tooth would love her automatically.

As Bunny entered the parlor, he saw Lifa was already being greeted by Sandy and Tooth. Lifa was entranced by Sandy's dream sand, and as if eager to impress the elder Guardian, she made a miniature sun in the palms of her hands. It morphed into a flower, then an egg, and then disappeared. She smiled. Sandy clapped his hands, incredibly entertained by the beautiful light.

Tooth zoomed over, "Oh, this is the famous Lifa? She's adorable!" Lifa blinked her golden eyes, "I'm…adorable…? What?"

"Bunny has told us about you! Well, just a little, but Jack told Baby Tooth about you," Baby Tooth waved, "And she told me. You're even prettier than Baby Tooth made you sound!"

Lifa's freckled cheeks turned pink. "Um, uh, okay?" She smiled, as she took a mug of hot chocolate from an elf.

"Oh, you have nice teeth, too!"

Lifa drank her hot chocolate, and looked over the mug at him with raised eyebrows, like _is this bird off her rocker or something?_

"I officially approve of Jack's first girlfriend!"

Lifa immediately spat out her mouthful of hot chocolate, sputtering. Bunny roared with laughter, and Sandy smiled sympathetically, making a dream sand heart and arrow. Lifa coughed uncontrollably, wiping her mouth off. "No no no no! I'm not- I-I'm not…NOT Jack's girlfriend! No way, never. Not happening. No. Just…_NO." _she directed the last no at Sandy, waving her hand through the dreamsand heart. Sandy chuckled silently.

"Y'know, Sunny, Jack did mention once or twice he thought your accent was cute. Y'know, the Northern British and Scottish combo you got goin'? I dunno what yer accent is."

"Aw, rack off! And Brits and Scots hate each other, y'know that. My accent is Norwegian, if you wanted t'know." Lifa snapped, and chugged her hot chocolate, downing it in a few seconds. Tooth laughed, "Oh, so she's just his friend. Alright, I believe you."

"That's on the dot, Feathers." Lifa said, putting the mug down. Tooth frowned, "…Feathers?"

"Oh, sorry. What're ya called if not Feathers?"

"Toothiana. Tooth for short."

"Oooh, you're the Tooth Fairy, then! Wasn't there some sort o' rule? Loose your tooth, ya get a coin. But knockin' 'em out was cheatin'. I always got my teeth knocked out. On accident, o' course."

Tooth's mouth fell open, violet eyes widening. "W-what were you doing that got your teeth knocked out?"

"Oh, I fell out o' a tree. Hit a few branches on the way down. And Jack hit me in the face wigh his staff once, too. I was askin' for it, though. He didn't mean to. He felt right awful after. But he didn't manage to do any damage, the string bean. And I had other…incidents." Like getting hit in the face by the butt of a sword by a Viking twice her size, for example. Top right incisor had been loose during that battle. It came right out, and she'd almost swallowed it. She won that fight. Lifa smirked a little bit.

Sandy conjured of a dreamsand image of Bunny taking his staff away, and Jack sitting in the corner for a time out. North laughed.

Tooth glanced at Bunny, who scowled. "I shook him senseless after that. Shoulda been watchin' what he was doin', he coulda given you a concussion."

"Not with those noodle arms, he wouldn't. Got anymore hot cocoa?"

"Da." North said, "Sit down. Elves will bring snacks. Now, we talk." He gestured to the red plush armchairs in front of the fire. Lifa immediately parked herself in the chair closest to the fire, jumping onto the cushion and drew her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms around her shins, and resting her chin on the top of her knees, waiting for everyone to sit down. Bunny took the seat next to her. "Alright. So we're all aware of why we're meeting."

"To celebrate Easter!" Lifa piped up, "Jokul's comin' later, right, Bunny?" she looked at him, like a child expecting their parent to confirm what they said was correct.

Bunny's smile faded. "Maybe, Sunshine…depends if he feels up to it. He had a rough night."

Lifa looked around, trying to keep her grin, but all she saw were serious faces. "What's wrong with him? Is he sick or somethin'? He can't have a cold! He…well, he is a cold, innit he?" she chuckled a bit.

Tooth shook her head, "No, sweetheart. This is about you. It's also a little bit about Jack, and some nightmares. But mostly you."

"I don't understand. Did I do somethin' wrong?"

Bunny immediately protested, "Y'did nothin' wrong. You aren't in trouble, we just…we need to explain some things to you. To help you. But you need to promise not to run out on us, alright?"

Lifa narrowed her eyes at them all. "I don't trust them. Bunny, what am I missin' here?" Sandy looked a little hurt by that, and the others shifted uncomfortably.

Bunny sighed, "Alright, but you trust me. Promise me you won't run out, and we'll fill you in. Alright?"

Lifa grumbled what could be perceived as an "okay, fine."

The elves dropped off snacks, and Lifa immediately munched on a plate of peanut butter cookies, chocolate chip cookies, and raspberry and lemon tarts. There were even sausage rolls. Her favorites. Bunny smiled. Well, if there was food, she'd probably stick around.

Bunny began talking, "Alright, Sunny. We know you don't have dreams. And we know you only remember your human self, yeah?" Lifa nodded. "Well, you should remember a lot more than that. See, something happened centuries ago…and you were caught in the middle of it. It weren't your fault-"

"Wasn't." Lifa interjected, correcting his grammar.

"Wasn't your fault," Bunny repeated, "and you were just tryin' t'help. You almost did. But…something happened to make you very, very sick. You were cured, but not soon enough. To have a full recovery for your mind an' soul, we had…well, we…"

"Out with it, Bunny."

"We erased your memories, Sunshine. Two thousand and seven hundred years ago."

The plate shattered on the floor, tarts and cookies and rolls and all. Lifa just stared. She opened her mouth to speak, then closed it. She tried again. Mute.

Tooth began to fly over to her to say something, but then Lifa found a way to respond. She lunged for Bunny, and belted him in the face with her fist, giving the poor Pooka a nasty nosebleed. Sandy wrapped dreamsand around Lifa, and pulled her back.

"Lifa, honey, we are so sorry, we didn't have a choice! Please, calm down…"

Lifa screamed and cursed, _"Why?! Why did you do it?! I was alone! I didn't know anything! How could you leave me alone?! You KNEW! YOU KNEW WHAT WAS WRONG WITH ME, AND YOU NEVER TOLD ME! BUNNY! ANSWER ME! BUNNY, YOU BASTARD, YOU'RE A DAMN LIAR! FUCK YOU! I HATE YOU!"_

Bunny just remained silently, not even trying to staunch the flow of blood from his nose. Those words hit him like a wrecking ball. They hurt as much as when Jack had told him he hated him, because of his grief for his father. But Bunny couldn't say anything, because Lifa had every right to say these things. So, he did nothing.

North placed one giant hand on Lifa's thin shoulder, "Calm down, _rebenok, _you are not in , let us hel- AH!" Lifa sank her teeth into North's fingers. She would've full blown attacked North, had Sandy not held her back. North got his hand free, and said, "Sandy! Knock her out!"

Lifa's eyes immediately froze in fear. She thought that meant Sandy was going to attack her. Bunny looked up and saw her facial expression.

"Sandy. Put. Her. Down." He growled.

Sandy looked surprised, but he didn't argue. Setting Lifa in the floor, he stepped back, and made North and Tooth do the same. Lifa was on her knees, hugging herself and staring at the floor. She didn't understand what was happening. _Of course she doesn't, she's terrified and can't remember. _Bunny thought guiltily. He knelt in front of Lifa. "Sunshine. Come on, look at me."

Lifa shook her head, mumbling "uh uh" like a toddler would.

"I know you're angry, and you're scared, but you need to talk to me, Sunny. I promised I would help, and that's what I'm gonna do. No more being alone."

That did it. Lifa didn't collapse into sobs like Jack might have, had the Guardians not been there. Hell, Lifa wouldn't have done it if they were in the middle of nowhere. She'd stopped being able to cry decades ago. But it didn't stop her hiccups or mumblings in Norse.

Bunny didn't know Norse, but he took that as a sign to pull her into a gentle hug. Not tight, but not insecure. She could pull away if she wanted, but she didn't. "I'm so sorry, Sunshine. But you're here to go your memories back…because, y'see, you're finally healed. Jack fixed yer mind, by becomin' yer friend. After today, you'll know what happened. And then we can help Jack, okay?"

Lifa finally stopped shaking, and muttered, "I'm sorry I punched you."

Bunny smiled, and ruffled her hair, "Nah, mate, don't worry abou' it. A little nosebleed won't hurt me."

"Even so. Here." She pulled out of hug and reached her hand out, resting her fingertips against Bunny's nose. Her hand glowed, pale gold, like sunlight, and Bunny felt his nose click back into shape. Lifa had broken it, definitely, and now she'd just fixed it.

"That really is quite a trick." He remarked. Tooth and North exchanged glances. Sandy floated over and patted Lifa's shoulder, and pointed at her chair. Lifa nodded, "Yeah, Sandman, I know."

Plunking down in the chair again, she watched the elves clean up the broken plate. Everyone else returned to their seats. North shooed the elves away from the fireplace, and stocked up more wood in it himself, not trusting the elves near fire. Tooth wrung her hands worriedly, and Sandy patted her shoulder, trying to comfort her.

Lifa reached up, and wiped her nose, blinking. "That's weird…" she muttered, looking at the red smear on the side of her thumb.

Bunny looked up. "What's wei-LIFA!" He immediately jumped to his feet. "You're bleedin'!"

Lifa shook her head, "I'm fine. Just a nose bleed. It must be a side effect of healing someone else."

Tooth turned around, concerned."You heal someone else, and you get hurt?"

Lifa shrugged, "It's something like the law of equivalent exchange. It's a science. No big deal. See? Bleeding's already stopped." She sniffled experimentally.

Tooth just stared. "What's the law of equivalent exchange?"

Before Lifa could speak, Bunny held out his paw in a stop gesture, "DON'T get her fixed on explaining alchemy to us. She'll never shut up. Anyway, Lifa, it's time to get your memories back."

Tooth protested, "We're starting right away? She should be laying down for that! And we should explain it to her first, and-"

Bunny shook his head, "No. Yes, she can lay down. But explaining it to her would just make her try to hard to comprehend what's happening. She needs to be completely relaxed."

Sandy nodded, signaling Bunny was right. Conjuring up a dream image of a bed, he turned to North with a questioning face.

"Da. I set up room already." North nodded, standing up. "I will make sure it's ready. Tooth, Sandy, come along. Bunny, you can talk to Lifa."

As North, Tooth, and Sandy left the parlor to set up the procedure, Bunny turned to Lifa. Lifa was sitting in the armchair, her legs dangling over one arm and her arms folded over her face. "What are you all going to do?" she asked, without uncovering her face.

Bunny walked over and sat on the floor next to her chair, and pried her arms away from her face, muttering, "Don't sit like that. It's bad for yer neck."

Lifa tilted her head back to look at Bunny upside down. Her hair was now long enough that the tips brushed against the floor. "Well?"

Bunny sighed, and began explaining, "Tooth has your memories, and Sandy is going to guide them back to you. You need to be asleep for it, that's why he's here. But I can't help you when they're coming back. It's going to hurt a lot, Sunny. Mentally and physically."

Lifa smirked, "I have an incredible pain tolerance, Aster."

He looked away. _I know you do, Sunny…you wouldn't have survived if you didn't. _He thought grimly.

"Yeah, I know you'll be fine. But after this, you're probably going to be very, very angry at us. Promise you'll listen to me before you attack."

"I promise." She said, holding out her hand for a pinky-promise. Bunny smiled, hooking the little finger of his paw around her finger, sealing the promise.

"Alright. Come on. Time to find out who ya are."

Lifa was laying down in a comfortable bed, and Tooth and Sandy were conversing on one side of the room, and Bunny and North on the other side. Lifa wasn't scared. Really, she wasn't. Hardly anything scared her, actually. She didn't really know what she was afraid of. The dark, a little bit. Snakes were downright eerie little freaks. But she was genuinely _scared. _She wasn't now.

Bunny walked over and sat down in the chair next to the bed. "Alright, Sunny, it's time. Sandy there is going to put you to sleep. Then your memories will come back. It's a lot of memories, so it's going to take a long time, and it's going to be a really bad head ache. And heart ache. You ready?"

Lifa nodded, "Is Jokul coming?"

Bunny shook his head. "No, he doesn't know about this. Sandy." He called over the little golden man, he was over to the bed in a second, "S'time to start."

Lifa closed her eyes. A little bit of dreamsand sprinkled over her face and she was fast asleep.

Bunny and North left the room to let Tooth and Sandy do their work. "You think she'll be alright?" Bunny asked, turning around, "Maybe I should stay wi- OI!"

North pulled him back by his arm. "No. She must do this on her own. You need to sit, and rest. You have been taking on an awful lot lately. Caring for two children at once. During Easter, too."

Bunny rubbed his temples, "Yeah, It's givin' me a killer headache. Sunny has the attention span of a sparrow, and Frostbite is a bad influence on her, I know it."

"Eet sounds like you enjoy this." North chuckled.

"No, it'll be the end of me!"

"Bunnymund, I think eet ees good idea for you to care for them. Eet is good for you, after…well, after your…loss." North stumbled a little bit at the end of the sentence, knowing he was venturing into dangerous territory.

Bunny turned and glared at him, and snarled, "I was just doin' Frost a favor. Sunny needed a place t' stay, and I couldn't get rid o' him. That's it. They aren't my kids. I stopped being a father when my children were slaughtered by Fearlings!"

North just stared at him. "You do not mean that, Aster. You know you that ees not true. Maybe you should tell Jack-"

"_NO."_

Bunny immediately turned and headed down the hall. "Exit's this way, yeah? I'll let myself out."

"Bunny, denying that it happened will not help you. Jack is Guardian now. He has to know!" North shouted after him. All Bunny did was wave a paw at him, and disappear in a tunnel.

**Back at the Warren-**

Jack groaned in boredom. He'd been waiting in the Warren for hours, after reading Lifa's note. (Leaving to go visit some of Bunny's friends for Easter. He called them the Guardians. See you later, Jokul) and another note from Bunny, (Don't get into trouble while we're gone. You'd better still be in the Warren when I get back, Frostbite)

Jack Frost rolled over on his stomach and stared at the egglets, who had nothing to do now that Easter was over.

_You'd better still be in the Warren when I get back, Frostbite._

Alright. Fine. He'll be in the Warren when Bunny get's back. But Bunny ISN'T back, so he couldn't know if he left just to cause a little snow day up in Burgess, would he? Of course not. He'd be back before Bunny was, and he'd never know. Jumping to his feet, he ran into the exit tunnel, and took the one on the left with a wooden sign above its entrance that said "Burgess".

**In Burgess-**

Jack landed on the surface of the lake, and it immediately froze over. Even though Jamie and Sophie were gone in vacation, he was glad to be back. He didn't remember where on vacation they went. Jamie said it depended on money. Either Sicily, or some ski resort in Utah. Jack had checked in Utah, and they weren't there, so he assumed they were in all-too-warm-weather Sicily. Alright, so he couldn't give Burgess a snow day. It'd been sixty degrees that day for Easter (he'd promised Bunny he'd give him a break this year) so he decided just a light snow fall would be nice, just dust the whole town in it.

Flying over Burgess, the snow began to fall. Jack smiled, watching the snowflakes fall. He went all over the entire town, until snow covered everything. By then, the sun had gone down. The snowfall measured about a good four inches. Landing by his lake again, he looked around for the tunnel opening. Then he realized it was closed. "Oops…"

Jack did not know where the Warren specifically was, and he could go to the Pole, but then Bunny would know he'd ditched. Why couldn't Bunny just let the pranking go and tell him where the heck the Warren was?

Jack groaned in despair and sat down in the middle of the lake on the ice. "I'm going to be grounded for weeks, I kno- wait. No. Bunny isn't my dad, what the hell am I worried about?" he said out loud, shaking his head. Officially convinced Bunny can't declare an consequences, Jack stood up to go to the Pole.

"_Jackson…"_

The voice was cold, in the worst way possible, and it felt like the edge of a blade was being scraped over Jack's spine. His stomach flipped at the sound of it. Gripping his staff defensively, his eyes scanned his surroundings for the source. Of course, he wouldn't ask "Who's there?" That would be stupid. He'd seen enough horror movies with Jamie to know that you don't call out if there's a potential murderer close by. Seriously, you walk into a house when there's sinister happenings, and call out "Anyone here?" and think that's a good idea? Would you expect the killer to say, "Yeah, I'm in the living room! Wanna watch the Lion King with me?" Of course not. So, he remained silent.

"_Jack…you're going to fall…" _The voice laughed softly.

_Crack._

Jack gasped and looked down. The ice was breaking. But it couldn't be, he was keeping it frozen.

"_Hahaha…you aren't scared, are you, Jackson?"_

Jack shuddered. Daring to tear his eyes away from the cracks underneath his feet, he looked across the ice.

His eyes went as wide as coins, and he opened his mouth to scream, but all that came out was a strangled croak. There was a _thing _crawling onto the ice. It was ginormous, four times Jack's height. It made North look tiny.

Black, shapeless, and burning yellow eyes. It had a curved, sinister with filthy, black pointed teeth. It was…humanoid. Or reptilian. Jack couldn't distinguish which. But it had long, gangly limbs, and thin, spiked tail that curled forward over its head like a scorpion. It was three times Jack's height in length, and it curled and waved around with incredible flexibility. It crawled on all four limbs. It's hands had long, curved fingers and claws that Jack was sure could slice anything to ribbons in one slash. It was completely black. Its entire bony body crouched on the ice. To Jack's horror, the thing's skull-like head cocked to the size and _kept turning. _

It was almost a little upside down when it stopped, and it grinned wider. _"Are you scared?"_

Its lips did not move when it spoke.

Jack went rigid, but he couldn't move his feet. He couldn't fly away or make a sound.

"_I asked you a question, Jackson."_

Jack could not answer. He opened and closed his mouth, trying to speak, but gave up.

The tail shot forward, wrapping around Jack. It curled around him tightly, pinning his arms to his sides, and constricting his breathing. His ribs ached in protest, and his staff clattered out of his hands.

"_Are you scared?" _it asked again, dragging Jack across the ice until he was inches from the thing's face. It smelled like rot, and tar. Utterly putrid. Jack finally found his voice, and whispered, "No. No. No!" Over and over.

"_Good children do not lie."_

The tail tightened around him, and Jack gasped. "NO!" It kept getting tighter.

"_A lying child must be punished. That is the rule."_

"I'm not scared!"

"_Liar, liar!" _it crowed.

Jack's ribs broke under the grip, and he shrieked in pain. Biting down on his tongue, he silenced his voice. He squirmed in the tail's grasp, and growled, "Let me go! Bastard! PUT ME DOWN."

"_Don't you like me, Jackson? I thought we could have fun. Isn't that what you do? Have fun? I can do that, too."_

Before Jack could retort, his body was slammed down on the ice, and the air was stolen from his lungs. Lifted into the air again, he gasped like a fish out of water. Again, he was slammed down on the ice.

"_How many times can I drop you until the ice breaks, Jack? Why don't we play a game and count? That's two."_

_**Slam.**_

"_Three."_

_**Slam. **_Jack groaned in pain.

"_Four!"_

_**Slam**_**. Crack.**

Jack squeezed his eyes shut.

"_Tell the truth, Jackson, and we don't have to play this game anymore."_

"Screw you," Jack coughed. "Whatever the hell you are…I'm not scared."

That was the truth. He wasn't. He had been before, but now he knew it was just trying to make him afraid. It needed fear. He wouldn't give it any.

He felt himself rush through the air, and be slammed into the ice one last time. His body crashed through the cracked surface, and plunged into the icy water. Down, down, down…

The whip-like tail held him under as he writhed and twisted, trying to get free. How long could he hold his breath for? Would he die? _Could _he die? If water was what killed him before, could it kill him again? Jack's lungs burned, and he still held his breath. If he breathed in, his lungs would fill with water. Then he'd be dead for sure. _Stay awake. Stay awake, and it'll be okay…stay…_

Jack barely felt it when the tail released him, the monster losing interest in a prey it couldn't frighten. Jack drifted slowly to rest at the bottom of the lake, laying there in the mud, and leaves. His eyes gazed around the murky darkness, and then closed. He couldn't stay awake any longer. The burning in his chest wasn't so bad anymore. Finally, Jack's world went black.

**The Warren-**

Bunny came back to the Warren in extremely low spirits. He was angry, confused, and depressed, even. He knew Jack would find out about his past at some point. Every Guardian knew. But he didn't want the kid thinking he was some poor former-father with no son, and no wife anymore who was actually a big softie. Alright, that actually wasn't far from the truth. He wasn't as lean-and-mean and gruff as he walked around acting, but he wasn't a poor unfortunate soul, either. He was fine. Really. He lost his family centuries ago, he had plenty of time to cope. He should not be so upset right now.

Bull shit. Bunny walked across the Warren, trying to look cheerful. Cranky, even. Something Frostbite wouldn't sum up to something being wrong, and ask him for an explanation. He did not want to tell Jack a story about an entire race being slaughtered and leaving E. Aster Bunnymund by himself. The very, very last.

Where the hell was Jack, anyway? He was nowhere to be seen, and the absent feeling of cold in the air was unnerving. "Frostbite!" Bunny shouted, hoping for an answer. "I'll kill 'im." Bunny muttered, turning around. Spotting a few egglets, he called them over. "Alright, where did 'e fly off?"

After listening to the egglet's strange clicking language, Bunny stood up, and headed for Burgess. _I'm going to ground the kid. Literally! Take his staff away, and sit him in the corner for two hours…_

By the time Bunny got to Burgess, he knew something was wrong. It was far too quiet. Behind Bunny, something slithered across the ground, laughing. Immediately taking out his boomerangs, he spun around, scanning his surroundings.

When he saw it, he didn't even hesitate for a millisecond before he attacked. The monster, the _Fearling _snarled and shrieked when each boomerang struck it in the head. Bunny caught them both as they flew back.

"I'm going to make this clear and simple. Tell me what you did with Jack."

"_He's sleeping." _It growled softly.

"Yeah, I assumed as much. Where?"

"_His grave. For the second time."_

Bunny's green eyes went wide. "You didn't…you couldn't…" Shaking his head, and snapping out of it, Bunny lunged for the Fearling, full intending on snapping its worthless neck. _"BLOODY MONSTER, I'LL KILL YOU!"_

But before Bunny could even get within three feet of the demonic creature, the shadows of the forest swallowed it up. Bunny cursed, and turned around. He didn't have time for this. Taking off running, he made a bee-line for the lake.

When he got there, he knew for sure what had happened. The ice in the middle was shattered, and Jack's staff was discarded on its surface, the frost patterns on the wood absent. It looked like plain, old, dead wood without Jack's magic covering it.

Half hopping, half sliding, Bunny made his way over the ice to the hole, and looked into the water. But it was too dark to see Jack. "Man in Moon, help me…" Bunny whispered, desperate.

In response, the moon shone brighter, lighting up the lake's depths. After straining a little more to see, Bunny finally found Jack. Laying lifeless at the bottom of the lake, he looked very, very much dead. Bunny wasn't the best swimmer, but that didn't stop him from diving head first into the forty degree water. _Bloody hell, it's cold!_

He finally reached Jack, and wrapped his arms around the kid. He was not nearly as cold as he should have been. Kicking off the bottom of the lake, Bunyn swam back to the top, and pulled them both out of the water, drenched.

"Frostbite, wake up. Come on! Dammit!" Bunny shook Jack by his shoulders, but Jack's head lolled limp as a ragdoll. His face was blue around his eyes, and lips from suffocation. Bunny shook him harder, trying to jolt him awake. Frost was collecting, even just a little, on his clothes. That meant he was still inside, his spirit, at least. Otherwise, the magic would have been gone. "JACK, I KNOW YOU CAN HEAR ME."

Bunny's ears twitched. He could hear it, the faintest flutter of Jack's heart threatening to give out. Folding his paws over Jack's stomach, he started making compressions to force the water out of his lungs. Giving him air wouldn't do squat if his lungs were full of H20.

Jack shuddered, and his body convulsed. He suddenly rolled over and vomited water, coughing and spluttering. Bunny pounded his fist against Jack's back, trying to help him dispel all of it. Jack finally stopped retching, and took deep breaths.

The sound Bunny heard next was the one he least expected. Jack had started laughing. Rolling onto his back again, his was chuckling, and muttering, "I win…I wasn't scared…"

"Well, you're not dead either, which means I can jump right in," Bunny growled, hauling Jack to his feet by one fist entangled in the front of his soaking-wet-freezing-over hoody.

"_ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR BLOOMIN' MIND?! WHY IN MANNY'S NAME WOULD YOU LEAVE THE WARREN? IF I TOLD YOU TO STAY PUT, THERE IS OBVIOUSLY A GOOD REASON, JACK. DO YOU HAVE EVEN A SLIVER OF COMMON SENSE? DO YOU HAVE SLUSH FOR BRAINS? IS THAT IT? YOU COULD HAVE BEEN KILLED. OR WORSE! THAT FEARLING COULD HAVE TAKEN YOU HOME WITH IT, AS A…AS A PET. THEN NOT EVEN MANNY COULD HAVE HELPED YOU! HOW DENSE CAN YOU BE?!"_

During the entire lecture, Bunny didn't even realize he was holding Jack off the ground by the front of his hoody, and Jack's cerulean eyes were wide was saucers. Bunny let go of him, and pinched the bridge of his nose. He could feel a migraine coming on. "Warren. Now. Go. Grounded…three weeks…"

"…You're grounding me?" Jack scoffed, looking around for his staff. "Bunny, you aren't my father. And three weeks is a little extreme, and unnecessary."

"SO IS GIVING ME A HEART ATTACK."

Jack picked up his staff, wincing as he bent over. His ribs were cracked, and he certainly had serious bruising, but nothing fatal. "Why are you so worked up over this? I'm alive, aren't I? Just calm do- Aah!"

Bunny seized Jack by the back of his neck and shoved him into the tunnel, and continued dragging him down it, muttering angrily. "Damn idiot…I have more things to worry about than you wandering off! Pitch is _gone. _The Nightmares are gone, too! You know what's back because they're kaput?! FEARLINGS." He turned sharply into the right tunnel, pulling Jack roughly with him.

"OW! Bunny, stop, that _hurts!" _Jack yelped, and tried to shove Bunny's back off the back of his neck.

Bunny blinked, and let go. He didn't realize how tight his grip had been. Jack rubbed his neck, staring at the ground. He finally spoke, and asked quietly, "What's a Fearling?"

Continuing to walk down the tunnel, Bunny only said, "I'm. Not. Talking. About. It."

"Why not?"

Stepping into the Warren again, he headed straight to his room. "It's personal. I'm going to sleep. And you're still grounded."

Jack watched as Bunny left and sat down in the middle of the Warren. Why was Bunny so angry? Sure, he got beat up a bit. But he wasn't dead, or seriously injured. Why was it such a big deal? And what exactly is a Fearling, anyway? Why was it a personal thing for Bunny?

He stood up, and wandered over the den where Bunny slept. "Psst! Bunny! I know I'm, uh, grounded but…can I go to the Pole?"

"Good riddance. I'll be checking in with North to make sure you're there." Came the reply.

Jack stepped back, and turned around, "Okay…good bye."

And with that, he left to the Pole.


	11. Chapter 11

Jack arrived at the Pole, and was welcomed by the elves and yeti's warmly. Usually, Jack loved the attention he got from them. But right now, he was far from loving. He had his hood pulled up, and his jaw clenched, and every step he took was as close to a stomp as it could get without him looking like a child throwing a tantrum. Shoving back them, he headed straight to North's office. But before he got there, he was stopped in the hallway by Tooth, who was carrying…medicine bottles?

"Jack! Sweet tooth, what are you doing here? I thought you were at the Warren." Tooth smiled, but there was nervousness behind it.

"I…Bunny and I got into some sort of fight. I think. I don't know. I just don't want to be around him right now…"

"Oh, well, He's just being grumpy. Bunny is probably just exhausted from Easter! A few hours of good sleep, and it'll be okay." Tooth said cheerfully.

Jack shook his head, "No, it's not him being grumpy. I…I got attacked. I left the Warren when he told me not to, and I got hurt. Not badly! Just some bruising. I don't even think my ribs are cracked that badly. But he seemed more angry about what attacked me, rather than I'd been attacked at all."

Tooth's facial expression turned serious. "That is definitely a different case. Wait, cracked ribs? Jack, take your hood off! How hurt are you?"

Jack stepped back, "I'm fine, really- HEY!"

Tooth flew forward and pulled his hood down. When she saw the purple, blue and green bruises mottling his face, faint black eye and swollen left cheekbone, she gasped in horror and dropped all the medicine bottle's she'd been holding, which thankfully, didn't break when they hit the floor. They cracked, but the glass was strong.

"Tooth, it's just looks worse than it is. Really, I'm okay!"

Tooth pulled Jack into a tight hug, and Jack let out a quiet, "oof!" when she did. Smiling a little, he returned the hug. "I'm okay." He repeated. He was now, at least. Jack hadn't realized how much he needed a hug after Bunny had said the words, "Good riddance".

Tooth let go of him, and picked up the medicine bottles she'd dropped earlier, and hovered straight again. (after all, Tooth doesn't stand, she always hovers. The term "hover straight" makes as much sense as "strand straight" would in any other case.) "Do you want to tell me what attacked you?"

"Bunny called it a Fearling."

_**Crash.**_

This time, the bottles did shatter on impact when they hit the floor. Tooth covered her mouth with her hands, violet eyes wide. "Oh no…Oh, Poor Bunny…"

"Tooth, what the heck is wrong with you? What's wrong with Bunny?"

"Jack, honey…you're going to have to sit down to listen to this. Come on," Tooth grabbed his hand, and flew down the hallway, and Jack had to jog to keep him. There was no wind indoors, so he couldn't fly. Tooth lead him into the parlor. The parlor was basically a tearoom, or living room, that had book cases stacked against the walls, two love seats, several arm chairs, and one lounge chair arranged around a coffee table near the fire place. More than often, Jack would look at the books and eat a whole plate of cookies and pastries the elves would bring him, and sit in the lounge chair until he fell asleep. North let him come and go as he pleased. Only a few rules applied. No wind in the building, no bringing in stray animals for pets, and stay out of anything that's in-progress. Other than that, Jack had the run of the place. He mostly just looked at the books and tested toys for North. Jack liked all the detailed, artistic pictures in the mythology and fairy tale books. He couldn't read very well at all, but the pictures were enough for him. He never got to go to real school when he was human.

Jack sat down in an arm chair farthest from the fire place, and hugged his knees to his chest, wrapping his arms around his shins, and resting his chin on the tops of his knees. Tooth flitted around nervously, as if she couldn't make a decision. Finally, she sat in the chair across from him, and sighed, holding her head in her hands.

Jack shifted uncomfortably, "Tooth? Are you okay?"

She lifted her head. "…No, Jack. I'm not. This is not going to be a story with a happy ending. Sweetie, you know that Bunny is what you call a Pooka, right?"

Jack frowned, "Uhh…Lifa told me it's an Irish faery. Well feared and mischievous, and she said it was a…changeling? It's usually a black stallion."

Tooth smiled, "No, Jack. That's a Puca. Same way of saying the word, but different creature. Lifa was telling you about a type of Fearling. In a way, Pitch based the Nightmares off of them. No, I'm talking about Pooka, P-o-o-k-a. The Pooka clans. That's Bunny's race. Lifa actually knows a lot about the history and mythology. When…When she's doing better, you can ask her about it. She loves talking about mythology. She'll need to do a lot of talking."

Jack immediately sat rigid, "Is something wrong with her?"

"No, she's getting her memories back today. You see, when you met her, she was still sick with a virus. I know she told you about it. It was still in her mind. But after you befriended her, she was able to force it out. Bunny brought her here today to get them back. She's sleeping right now. Sandy is helping her remember. "

Jack relaxed. "Oh. So after, it'll be like therapy. I talk to her, and she'll recover faster. I get it. But what about the Pooka clans? And Bunny?"

"Well, this is a very long story. You're going to want to get comfortable. We'll be here a while."

Jack leaned back in the chair, and waited for Tooth to start speaking.

"The Pooka clans were rabbits. Originally European, like in Ireland, and Britain. Britain helped populate Australia. That explains the accent. The Pooka's were scholars, healers, scientists, and warriors. Architects, even. They helped create the world. They built Stone Henge! There were multiple clans, that specialized in each profession. Some were partnered together. Healers and Warriors were partnered as a joint clan because Healers did not know how to fight. Warriors needed healing. The Warriors defended the healer's, and the healers in turn saved lives. Some Pooka's were in both professions, but that was rare. They lived and prospered, and protected the wildlife of the entire world. Rain forests, deserts, islands…you name it, they protected it. They protected mankind, too. They killed and defeated Fearlings of the world. Fearlings were creatures of terror. The Boogeyman, The greek god Phobos, and all the other immortals of fear were the enemy of the clans, and they commanded the Fearlings. However, the Fearlings overpowered their masters, and planted a seed of doubt in mankind's minds. They made mankind think that the Pooka's were demons, impure creatures with evil intent. Mankind turned their backs on the Pooka's and the Fearlings attacked. Mankind stopped believing in their existence. The clans were slaughtered. Bunnymund was part of the clan of Healers and Warriors. He was both. He was also a great philosopher. And he also had a family."

Jack stiffened. He knew this would go nowhere good.

"He had a mate. Never told me her name. But she was the love of his life. I don't doubt that. He doesn't love her any less today than when she was alive. He also had a son. Bunny never told me his name, either…but he showed me a painting of his family." Tooth smiled a little, "His son looked like him…silver ears and paws, but the rest of him was snow white. He even had blue eyes ,like his mother. I bet if you were a Pooka, Jack, you would've looked like brothers."

Jack looked at her, "Does Bunny think that?"

Tooth shrugged, "I don't know. Maybe he has been lately. After all, he won't admit it, but he's loved having you and Lifa in the Warren. I can tell that he misses it…being a father, I mean. I think it's good for him, to start…moving on. It's been centuries, and he still storms off if anyone even mentions the clans. He…he punched North once, actually, when North tried to get him to stay and talk about it. When Bunny tried to leave, North tried to pull him back, and, well, North had a broken nose after. We left it alone since."

Jack's mouth dropped open in a perfect O. Bunny _punched North. _He felt guilty, thinking that he wasn't all that surprised Bunny would do such a thing. He remembered, Bunny had raised his fist at him the day he'd ruined Easter. Bunny seemed to have forgiven and forgotten, but Jack had almost always been on edge around him. He'd honestly thought Bunny would hit him. He was more surprised when he hadn't.

"Bunny was sent away to defend another clan, after receiving a message that Fearlings were on their way. The message had been a fraud. By the time Bunny had gotten back, a Fearling had broken into his home. He watched his mate and son get slaughtered," Tooth wiped her eyes, trying not to cry, "A-and then he was the very last. He was the last of his kind. After that, Manny made him into the Easter Bunny, and the Guardian of Hope. Fearlings exterminated his race, and family. He was the only survivor. That's why…that's why he was so angry with you. He knows how Fearlings behave better than any of us. He knew they were out there, somehow."

Tooth finally finished speaking. She was full-on crying now, "He must have been scared to death!"

Jack jumped to his feet and hugged Tooth, panic rising in his chest. "N-no, don't cry! He was fine, really! He was just made at me for not listening. I'll go talk to him, and make sure he's okay. Tooth, please don't cry…I'll take care of it."

Tooth sighed, and wiped her eyes, nodding. "I know. I just…I just feel horrible for him."

Jack let go of her, and stood up. "Well, don't. He'd have a fit if he knew you were crying over this. I'm going back to the Warren to talk to him. Take good care of Lifa for me!" He turned and ran out of the Pole, and launched himself into the air, flying as fast as the wind could carry him to Australia.

**In Australia-**

The blizzard raged for three hours until Bunny finally decided to do something about it. Unfortunately, he did that by opening a tunnel right under Jack's feet and dumping him into it. Of course, he did that from back in the Warren. He'd been sitting on the floor of his room, wallowing in his misery since Jack had left.

Jack tumbled into the tunnel, and jumped up, completely unabashed. He ran all the way to the Warren, and skidded to a stop. "Bunny! I need to talk to you _now."_

"Rack off, Frost." Came Bunny's voice from inside his room.

"No! I'm staying right here. If you don't come out, I'll make the blizzard of '68 happen again in your own damned burrow!" Jack tapped his staff on the ground, the power building up to do so.

"Go ahead! See how fast and far I can throw you out of here when ya do!"

"BUNNY." Jack crept closer to the door. "Listen…Tooth told me."

"Told you what?"

"About the clans."

"…alright. So?"

"And your mate and son. She told me everythi-"

The door crashed open and Bunny stormed out, seizing Jack by the front of his hoody, teeth bared in a snarl. "_She told you what?"_

Jack swallowed, actually afraid of Bunny. "Sh-she told me. About your son. And what the Fearlings did. Bunny, I'm really sorry…I should have listened. I didn't mean to bring anything-"

"Shut up." Bunny let go of Jack. "You didn't bring anything back. I'm fine. I did my grieving. It was centuries ago."

"Alright, grieving is one thing. Healing is another. " Jack straightened his hoody. The front of it was officially crumpled out of shape. He was getting tossed around, and picked up a lot today. "Bunny, if you were okay, why did you yell at me?"

"Because, you could have gotten yourself killed!"

"I'm not helpless, Bunny! Just because I died seventeen years old doesn't mean I'm going to STAY seventeen years old!" Jack shouted.

"You're right. You're not a child. But you're not a man either. You're stuck in between! You can take care of yourself, but not always! It's okay to let someone take care of you!" Bunny shouted back.

"STOP ACTING LIKE MY FATHER! YOU'RE NOT! YOUR SON IS DEAD, STOP TRYING TO REPLACE HIM WITH ME!"

Bunny looked like Jack had stabbed him with a rusty knife. It would have been less painful. Jack hated himself for it, but he went on anyway.

"You're just trying to bury all the pain by acting like what you're doing now is no different from before. You can't keep acting like the pain isn't real, or isn't there. It's not possible, and it's not healthy. I know that you miss them, and you love them. I love my parents and my little sister. I miss them every single day. I still wake up in the morning and think things like, "I hope Momma makes pancakes for breakfast" or, "I can take Emma tree climbing today!" and then I remember they're _dead. _I can't help my mother with chores anymore, I can't learn woodwork from my father, and I can't play with my little sister anymore. No hiding downstairs on Christmas Eve with her, waiting for Santa, no crawling into bed with my parents when there's a storm…that's GONE. And I have to accept it. It's the worse feeling ever, knowing that it's behind you. But you're about new beginnings! Don't you want to start new again?"

Bunny had been staring at the ground the whole time, fists clenched and ears flat. It took a very long time before he just said quietly, "I can't let 'em go, Frostbite. I've tried, I really have. It's…It's too painful." And with that, Bunny sat down in the grass right where he was, defeated.

Jack plunked down in front of him. "Well, have you been trying to do it by yourself?"

Bunny nodded, not looking at him.

"There it is. I couldn't have gotten over it and started again unless you'd been there. So, I'm returning the favor." Jack said flatly.

Bunny's ears twitched, and he crossed his arms, looking at Jack dubiously. "Oh, yeah? And how're you gonna do that?"

"Well…you could start by talking about it. You could tell me about your son."

Bunny shook his head.

"Come on, Bunny, please? I'll tell you about my family in return! That thing Lifa calls equivalent exchange, or some science crap she talks about."

Bunny laughed humorlessly. "I think it's both a science she talks about and some sort of anime show she loves. Alright. Fine. I'll tell you about my family."

Jack scooted closer next to Bunny, and waited for him to start, officially settling for a long story.

Bunny took a deep breath and began talking.

**A/N: Ohhh, I'm not sure how this chapter turned out. Lifa felt weak. Very weak. But still, I was really anxious to start Bunny's back story, and get Jack to seem less like the helpless kid I've been writing him as. And Tooth, I think I did a terrible job with. I've just analyzed Bunny, Jack and Lifa a lot more as characters than I have with the others. Some reviews and tips would help a bunch. Anywho, it's two in the morning, and I gotta pop off to bed. Also, some names for Bunny's son and mate would be great. I thought about his wife's name being after a flower or flower like. I have a list of flower-themed names for her. (flower, because she loved spring, was born in spring, and in a way, Bunny is the spring Guardian.)**

**Lillian Dahlia Azalea Mansi Linea Calla Dianthe Evanthe Poppy Kalina**

**I'm fond of Eventhe, Dahlia and Mansi. Kalina is okay.**

**Please, come up with your own for his son, mate, or vote on what name you like best!**

**Also, his son was about half Jack's age when he died. So, round it up, about seven to eight years.**

**Can't wait for the feed back, and your names. Thanks for reading! I salute thee! *salutes***


	12. Authors Note: FAN ART!

Alright, for those of you who are interested: I have drawn the fearling that attacked Jack. (yes, I draw) and once I convince my mother to buy the full version of Paint Tool Sai, I'll get started on fanart of this, and you can see my image of Lifa. I've never drawn a giant rabbit, so now's a good time to start for me, because I plan on drawing Bunny's son and mate, too. I'll be posting them on my tumblr, as I do not have a deviantart. I'll take requests to repost them, and I'll tag them with "art" and "my fanfic" so you can look through my archive. Here's the Fearling link!

search/fearling+drawing

My sketchbook is a bit small, so I couldn't draw the entire thing. I used: black sharpie to outline everything, and to color the claws, charcoal to color everything else, and yellow colored pencil and yellow sharpie for the eyes. A paintbrush was used to blend. I am aware that there are only three fingers on it's right hand. There's a reason for that. It's a plot device. From this angle, I couldn't draw the mangled stub hehehe.

I hope you guys enjoy/look forward to my art!


	13. Hiatus Announcement

Yes, I am going on hiatus. It's lasting from today (Easter Sunday 3/31/13) to sunday 4/7/13. My sister and I kind of...trashed the kitchen, and it's my turn to take the heat for it, meaning I'm grounded from laptop. However, I might be able to jam in a single chapter during that week. My mother has classes (paralegal) some nights, so I can sneak on. But I will be doing tons of brainstorming for the story, so I'll be able to crank out lots of long chapters out of the hiatus.

Also, I'm going to get started on building up the structure of Lifa's story. I promise this hiatus won't last more than this one week, and please, PLEASE review and send ideas for names and such, as I requested in previous chapters.

See you on the other side!


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N Alright, so after putting the names up on my tumblr, the name that was won by four votes (so far) was Dahlia. It is still up to vote, and Ginger is the name I'm using for Bunny's sister. (credit to Katyuana for Ginger as an option, and the original idea of naming Bunny's son after him. I hope you don't mind me using Ginger for Bunny's sister instead of his wife.) My best friend suggested Bunny's son's name, so credit to my bestie for picking a name which I thought was just perfect. Without further a-do, Alons-y!**

_E. Aster Bunnymund was sitting in his home, in a not-very-comfortable wooden chair, cradling the fluffy, snow white bundle in his arms. The kit had been born the day before, and was so small, Bunny could hardly believe he could grow up to be a six foot tall Pooka one day. But according to the healer, all Pooka's were that small once._

_Bunny watched the kit's nose and silvery paws twitch as he dreamed. He smiled, and cradled him a little closer. Before, he'd been terrified. He'd held his breath and not moved a muscle when he first held the kit. Heck, he was still terrified. But now that first-time terror was ebbing away, being replaced by contentment. The unconditional love moving in was almost instantaneous. How could anyone not love this baby? As soon as Bunny picked him up, the baby immediately snuggled close to him. All the kit wanted as someone to hold him, and love him. A real attention hog, Bunny thought._

_They'd named the kit after him. Esmond, little Essie. Bunny was actually thrilled about it. He was overjoyed about having a son now, starting a family, and the whole deal, that wasn't a problem. What he was afraid of was the future. He'd have the teach Esmond everything. How to hop, talk, read, write, fight, and endless life lessons. You could never stop learning. And he was a father. Fathers are teachers. It was a fact of life. And even though he was a father now, he still had no idea where to start. His wife was still at the healer's burrow, resting._

_He nuzzled his nose against the top of Esmond's head, and the kit scooted into the touch. Bunny decided that at the moment, he didn't have to worry about what was going to happen after tonight. It was a one night alone with Esmond. He could handle it. _

_Settling back in the chair, Bunny closed his eyes, keeping Esmond cradled in his arms against his chest. "G'night, Essie..." he murmured, before falling asleep. _

_He was still cradling Esmond by morning._

"...And I told 'im good night and fell asleep. My sister, Ginger, came by the next day, and said she could help me take care o' him until my wife got back, but..." Bunny smiled half-heartedly, "She couldn't get me to put him down. I never wanted to let him out of my sight."

Jack blinked several times, not knowing what to say. He'd been engrossed in the story, and now he was completely up for hearing the rest. But it was clear Bunny had decided he was done talking. Still, Jack wasn't about to let it go. He finally found something to say. "And then what? What'd you do after?"

"I did what every father should do. I raised 'im, right up until the end. Taught 'im everythin', 'cept..." Bunny's voice cracked, " 'Cept how to fight...I was goin' to when he got older. I let him out of my sight _once..."_

"It wasn't your fault, Bunny." Jack said flatly, not wanting an argument.

"Yeah, it was."

"Really? Tell me how, if you're so sure!"

Bunny's fur bristled visibly, and Jack stiffened a little. He was no expert on Pooka's, but he was pretty sure when any animal bristles their fur, it meant you should put some distance between yourself and it to avoid getting your hand bitten off. But Bunny didn't move. The silence stretched out for what seemed like forever, but it was actually only about twelve or thirteen minutes. Finally, Bunny said, "Jack. I know ya wanna help me. And I appreciate it, mate, I really do. But...One story is enough."

Upon hearing that, Jack stood up, seething. "You're still avoiding it! I thought we were going to talk about it, Bunny, You can't keep running away like a coward!"

Bunny stood up, towering over Jack. "DON'T YOU EVER CALL ME A COWARD!" Bunny roared.

"YOU ARE! YOU ARE A COWARD! IF YOU WEREN'T, WHY ARE YOU BACKING OUT OF FACING THIS?!" Regardless of size difference, Jack hovered in the air, the wind supporting him, so he could be eye-to-eye with Bunny. "You said you'd let me help! And I am NOT leaving until you come to terms with this."

"Fine! Sit out here all night!" Bunny turned around, leaving back into his burrow. Without thinking, Jack darted forward and grabbed Bunny's arm, pulling him back.

"No way, Cottontail, you-"

When Jack hit the ground, he wasn't even sure what had happened. His jaw and face hurt like crazy, and he could taste blood. He must have bitten his tongue or something...And something warm was running down his face, over his mouth. Reaching up slowly, he wiped his fingers under his nose, smearing red all over his hand. Jack looked up in shock. Bunny had hit him. Punched him in the face.

Meanwhile, Bunny stared down at Jack, feeling sick. Jack was_ bleeding. _And he was the one who'd hurt him. "Jack...I'm sorry, are you o-" Bunny knelt down, reaching out his paw to help Jack to his feet, but Jack flinched away from him.

"Don't. Touch. Me." he growled through clenched teeth, getting to his feet. Wiping blood off his face, he became much more aware of how much is face hurt. His chest ached from hitting the ground so hard, and having his cracked ribs jostled. His face had already been beaten up in the first place. "If you want to sit here and be miserable, FINE. I won't stick around to pity you," he spat, picking up his staff.

"Jack, I'm SORRY! I didn't mean to-" Bunny stared, but Jack was already launching himself into the air.

If Bunny was going to resort to violence to avoid getting help, fine. See if Jack gave a shit, which he did not. Really. Maybe Bunny couldn't be helped. He'd buried everything, and now he was coping. Was that really possible? Whatever. All Jack wanted to do was help Bunny, but no, he had to be the most stubborn damn pig-headed kangaroo on the planet. Well, he was the only one...But that point aside, Jack was pissed. He'd rather be anywhere, but at the Warren. Burgess, Canada, England, the freaking hundred degree African savanna, he didn't care!

Still, he had to decide where to go, instead of rocketing through the air above the cloud level at speeds over hundred and twenty.

The wind changed direction, carrying him North. Muttering, "You read my mind," Jack didn't resist the change of course. There was someone else he needed to visit.


	15. Chapter 15

_No no no. This was not supposed to happen. _

Pitch paced in his lair, frantic. He didn't think about the repercussions of releasing the barrier. How could he be such a fool? How could he forget? He'd left his daughter's mind _unprotected._

_No, she is not your daughter. _The voices hissed in his mind again. Why did they always do that?! He was the one in charge, not the damn Fearlings.

_Hahaha...Now, Pitch, you don't really believe you're in control, do you?_

__"Yes, I am." he snarled, forcing the voices and Fearlings into the back of his mind. After thousands of years, it became a special skill. But still, he had a serious problem to fix. It's not as if he really _cared _what happened to her, did he? Of course he did. No use lying. By breaking down the barrier, he'd left her susceptible to Fearlings. Lifa could very well be consumed and turn into something like him. But it'd be far worse. She could turn the entire planet in a burning hell, with the power of the sun at her command. Humans would be forced underground, quite possibly, to survive. They would live in the darkness after that, and then what? Grow accustomed to it? That would diminish what little power Pitch Black had left. No, he could not let this happen. He needed to take Lifa away from the Guardians, before all her memories came back. He needed to keep her away from the Guardians, especially Frost and that cursed Pooka. She was too close to them...

He couldn't care less for Frost now. Now that Lifa could be brought back into the equation, he had no use for him. But getting rid of E. Aster Bunnymund would be far more difficult. He needed to know where the Warren was, and how to defeat him. Regardless of centuries of being "acquainted" with him, Pitch actually knew very little about how to kill a Pooka. They were powerful, through magic and physical strength. If the over sized rabbit became truly threatened, he could actually unleash some powerful sorcery and in his current condition, Pitch was sure he couldn't withstand the strain or injuries he'd receive if such an event actually came to pass.

No, he needed a source that held lots of information about the Guardian's to successfully bring Lifa to his side once again. Not that Lifa had been a villain, no, he hadn't had such horrid intentions back then. In fact, he'd been much more...humane, when Lifa had been there. Pitch and Lifa had loved each other greatly, a father and his daughter. And then she'd betrayed him. The Witch Trials! It was only a bit of fun, but she'd been horrified and gone straight to the Guardians, to ask them to "help" him "get better". As if he was a drug addict. (not far from the truth, in a sense.) But Pitch had resisted it, and war raged between him and the Guardians. Until finally, one day, Lifa got in between the fight, and the Fearlings nearly slaughtered her...

That was the day her memories were erased, and she was put into a century long sleep. Like hibernation. But now, she'd been awake for a very long time, and if all the memories came back now, without protection from the darkness that may still cling to them...No. He had to put her to sleep again, and he had to do it _now. _

And maybe he'd get lucky, going to the Pole. "Killing two birds with one stone" so to speak.

* * *

Jack touched down at the Pole, and immediately threw snow in his face, scrubbing off the blood. He was still pissed at Bunny, but there was no reason to get the other Guardians mad at him. Bunny was just hurting. How many times had Jack himself caused trouble when he'd been hurting? Blizzards and iced roads...he'd never intended for people to get hurt, and neither did Bunny. Bunny was a warrior, and a wild animal, statistically speaking. Of course he'd lash out violently.

The anger that had been twisting Jack's stomach into knots melted away. Now he just wanted to give Bunny a hug, tell him he was okay (half truth), that the punch didn't hurt (a lie) and he wasn't mad at him (truth). But he couldn't go back now. There was someone else who needed him right now.

Walking into the building, Jack headed straight for North's office.

* * *

She was sleeping, of course, when he arrived. Pitch had simply traveled through the shadows. It'd taken some energy, but it was worth it. He gazed around the room. It was simple. A bed, night stand, dresser, wash basin, mirror.

A mirror. Pitch smiled a little, a genuine smile. Lifa didn't give a rats ass about vanity.

_Cut the nostalgia. _He thought, walking forward to her bedside. He nearly laughed. She looked so calm and peaceful, sleeping, her face relaxed, and eyelashes fluttering as she dreamed. Whenever she was awake, she was far from peaceful. It wouldn't be long before the nightmares attacked her mind, and then it would be too late. Reaching out, he brushed a loose, deep copper curl back behind her ear. At the same time, nightmare sand sprinkled from his finger tips and her eyelids stopped fluttering. Lifa slowly, but surely, fell into the deepest form of sleep. Everything halted in her mind, like a paused movie.

For now, she would be safe, and then he could plan how to bring her back to his side. But after he removed her two companions, Frost and the Pooka.

Speaking of which, he could feel a distinct new chill in the air.

* * *

"Jack! Velcome back!" North greeted him warmly, as always, when he walked into the office. Jack always knocked, unlike some particular Yeti's North could name. His brow wrinkled, "Jack, your face..."

Jack blinked, and remembered how bruised he must be. His chest still burned dully, and it wasn't comfortable, but not unbearable. "Yeah, I know...I got in a fight today. Something attack me, Bunny got mad at me, I'm avoiding him now...I don't want to talk about it. Is Lifa okay?"

"Da. She ees sleeping," North nodded, deciding to let it go, and not pry. "You can visit her, but cannot wake her. One visit at a time. Sandy's orders."

"Alright. Where?"

"End of the hall, top floor. Door has banner hung on it. White, with black raven on it. Viking crest."

"Ah. Okay." Jack thanked North, and headed out. Viking crest, eh? He recalled that Lifa's rest cloak had a white circle on the back of it, with a black bird-like illustration on it. Now he knew what it meant. Flying up the stair case, he made it to the end of the hall quick enough.

He felt an unpleasant chill shoot down his spine. It could just be him being paranoid, but did every single shadow just...darken? Of course not. That's against the laws of physics. Then again, magic very much existed, and...never mind. He hefted his staff against his shoulder, and twisted the door knob with his free hand, stepping into the room, and clicking the door shut behind him, quietly. "Hey, Sunny," he whispered, in case he might wake her up, "About time I showed up, right?"

He walked over and pulled a chair up next to the bed. Lifa was lay on her stomach, hugging her pillow with her face pressed against it with her cheek pressed up in a way Jack thought was adorable, and highly unlike her usual cold and calculating demeanor. "Jeez, who knew you had such messy sleeping habits?" Jack muttered, pulling the blanket back over her. It'd been kicked halfway off the bed. "Or you like cuddling," he smiled, eyeing the way she hugged the pillow.

"You're weird," Jack sat down in the chair. "But I guess I am too, if I'm talking to you while you're passed out asleep. Bunny said you're getting your memories back. That's a good thing, right? You'll remember your family...when you wake up, I'm gonna pester you about it. I want to know where you came from. You...You never tell me anything. I wish you would, Sunny. Where you learned to do everything you can, fight the way you can...Draw and build...you built that grandfather clock North has in the parlor. He told me you did. It's pretty great..."

Lifa remained unresponsive. It worried Jack a little bit. Sleep was fine, but sleep given from Sandy wasn't like this...why wasn't she dreaming? Jack knew that Lifa dreamed. She'd fallen asleep once during Easter preparations, during a lecture of how-do's and do-not's from Bunny. Her eyelids fluttered, always. That was a sign of dreaming. Now, they weren't moving.

"Lifa? Can you even hear me, Sunburn?"

Jack reached over and shook her shoulder.

"I'm afraid sleep's hold on her is too tight, Frost. No, she cannot hear you."

Jack leaped to his feet so fact, the chair he'd been sitting in crashed to the floor. He spun around, crouching slightly in a defensive position, staff ready. "Pitch?"

"Obviously," the Boogeyman stood in front of the door, Nightmare sand threading through the lock. By the grinding and clicking noses Jack heard, he knew it was hopelessly jammed. Nightmare sand proceeded to block the windows. Fabulous. The Wind howled outside in frustration. Now he was on his own.

"Look, whatever you came here for, you're not getting anywhere near her!" Jack snarled.

"I'm not here for her." Pitch snapped, "How daft are you? How useful is she to me in her current state? No, I'm here for you."

Now, this made Jack panic. Not that he was cowardly, or actually afraid of Pitch. But hearing that Pitch was coming directly for him, made his stomach roil. Last time he'd seen Pitch had been several weeks- almost two months- ago and he'd nearly killed Jack. He would've bled to death, if Lifa hadn't stitched him up. "Stay back."

The temperature in the room dropped. Pitch let more darkness curl around his hand, until it formed a long staff, taller than he was. A simple bowstaff, easy to create without exerting too much power, a heavy weapon that could cause massive damage if the wielder had the physical strength. Pitch most certainly could crack a few skulls wielding that. "I'm afraid not, Jack. I need you to help me with something. I need a few questions answered..."

Jack swung his staff in a wide, horizontal slash, sending deadly-pointed icicles shooting directly at Pitch. Pitch, however, was unimpressed, and smashed them easily with his own weapon, and dashed forward, swinging forward the bowstaff directly down at Jack's head. Jack raised his own staff and blocked it, his knees buckling a bit under the force.

"And based on your stubbornness...You obviously won't answer willingly. I'll just have to take you home and...extract the answers from you."

Before Jack could retaliate, Pick kicked him so hard in his chest, he heard two audible cracks of his already busted ribs breaking. He barely held back his yell of pain, and then his arms gave way, allowing Pitch's bowstaff to slam down on his head.

Jack hit the floor with a dull thud, his vision already blurring and growing dark.

Pitch smiled. This had been too easy. "Goodnight, Jack." he chirped, picking up the boy's staff, and the boy himself, and tossing the boy onto his shoulder like a sack of flour.

The shadows expanded and Pitch stepped into them, back to the lair, leaving Lifa sleeping, blissfully unaware of what has happened, and North ignorant of the Guardian's loss.

"Have a sweet nightmare."


	16. Forewarning

**Alright, the next chapter contains a large amount of gore, and violence. Swearing as well. Nothing sexual, but it is disturbingly dark and bloody. If you are uncomfortable with this, please skip this chapter. There will be a recap of anything significant to the plot after it, so don't worry.**

**This is proof that I should not have read that history book "The Dark Past of European Royalty". Hence, the Blood Duchess and Vlad the Impaler and all kinds of sadistic royal freaks...goes to show, Europe, incest breeds psychotic blood thirsty nobles. **

**Also, as for Lifa's past, Instead of writing it as a separate fanfic, I'll throw it into my one-shot story (An Account of the Misadventures of Sunburn and Frostbite) so you can read it there. **

**Beware the next chapter. **

**Alright, carry on. As you were.**


	17. Chapter 17

It seemed like forever when Jack finally came to, and when he did, his head ached horribly. His chest burned even worse than before. What the hell happened?

Oh. Right. He remembered, and tried to look around. Then he realized he could move his head. There was a leather strap across his forehead. Even worse, he was spread out like a starfish on a table, straps over his wrists, ankles, hips and chest. The table was tilted slightly, so his head was elevated. Glancing to his right side, he only saw an expanse of a dark room. Stone floor, stone walls, a heavy door that would be incredibly difficult to open for someone his size and strength. Glancing to his left, he was nearly sick at the sight he saw.

It was another table, with several trays of...devices. Blades, syringes, pliers, the list went on, and there were...cork screws?! And next to that, a...brazier of hot coals, and several metal, unmarked coins sitting in the coals, heating to be red hot.

Jack was convinced he was in Hell.

_Calm down. Deep breaths, Jack, it's going to be fine...You're tough as nails. _He told himself, trying to breathe deeply (as deep as you can manage, with two busted ribs).

How the hell was he supposed to keep calm?! He knew what places like this were for, and by God, he wished to everything good in the world he was ignorant to places like these. Now he was in one.

"Ah, Jack, you're finally awake. I hope you're comfortable," The smooth, cold voice came from behind him. Jack looked upward (as much as he could manage, with his head strapped down) to see Pitch staring down at him, smiling like a wolf does before it rips another poor animal's throat out.

"PITCH! You'd better let me go, or I swear to God-"

"God?" Pitch echoed, interrupting him. "My, any of the other Guardians would say Man in Moon. But you choose to call upon your "God". Well, Manny or God, either way, they can't help you here. I feel I should tell you that in advance."

Jack began to pulled against his restrains, but they barely gave more than two inches. "Shut up! You're wrong! The Guardians will know I'm missing, and when Bunny finds out, he'll tear you apart!"

"Oh, does he really care for you that much?" Pitch asked innocently, walking around the table and twirling something in his hand.

Jack's staff. In the hands of that sadistic monster, _again._

"He's...he's like...my father..." Jack whispered, barely audible. Should he tell Pitch that? To frighten him? Fathers would destroy any threat to their children (at least, they should) and Bunny was more than capable of kicking ass.

"Oh, how sweet. Well, he's just trying to replace his lost son with you...whether he knows it or not." Pitch stopped behind the brazier, and held Jack's staff aloft over it, gripping it with both hands. "Now, I recall, when I broke your staff, you seemed to have been in quite a large amount of pain. I was impressed you didn't scream. Let's experiment with how you react when I harm your staff in...a variety of methods."

Slowly, Pitch bent the staff. Not enough to break it, but it creaked and moaned in protest. Jack immediately screamed in agony. It felt like his own spine was being twisted in a pretzel. _Stop screaming! Don't you dare give him the satisfaction! _Jack's own thoughts told him. But he couldn't. No matter how hard he tried to hold it back, the cries of pain still made their way into the air.

And Pitch _smiled. _"Interesting." he relaxed his hands, letting the staff's own torture end. Every muscle in Jack's body, which had gone tight and rigid, relaxed and Jack's chest heaved as he tried to hold back sobs. Successfully, he did manage not to cry. Not one tear.

"You see, Jack, I need an ally. And it's not you. It's Lifa." Pitch explained, holding the staff closer to the coals in the brazier. "But I'm afraid it would be much harder to get her to my side if she had anything keeping her with the Guardians. I need to remove her two...companions."

Jack squirmed in discomfort, feeling the smothering heat. He didn't want to hear this.

"That would be you, and the damned rabbit. However, I know how to take care of you...but not the rabbit. Care to share anything with me? Possibly the whereabouts of the Warren?"

"I don't know where the Warren is. Bunny never told me." Jack snarled through clenched teeth.

That's when Pitch dropped the staff into the coals. Jack shrieked and twisted against his restraints, the searing pain exploding over every inch of his body. He sucked in air, trying to breathe, but it was light the fire burned _inside _of him, eating away the oxygen before it could give him any strength. He screamed and shrieked, but it did nothing to help him cope with the pain. Then he felt more pain bite into his face, and he realized, he was crying. The boiled tears left blisters on his cheeks.

Pitch grasped the end of the staff that wasn't in the coals, and pulled it out, waving it in the air to dispose of the charred-to-ash remnants that clung to the relic and tainting the air with the acrid stench of smoke. "You lied." he said simply.

Jack greedily gulped in air, now able to breathe properly again. "I...didn't..." he rasped, his throat feeling dry.

"Jack, I'm afraid lying here will only make things worse for you." Pitch warned, picking up a small hammer from the tray. Just a simple, precise hammer. More like a mallet, actually.

"Just answer the question, Frost."

"Go fuck yourself." Jack spat.

The hammer slammed down on his hand, demolishing, splintering and shattering most of the bones. Jack bit his tongue so hard, he tasted blood, as he held back his screech of pain. Still, a keening whine escaped his lips.

"Now, a protector of children should never use such language," Pitch chided.

Pitch turned around, and walked over to the tray of syringes. "I learned to make these...concoctions from modern day military labs. They take over the nervous system...how much do you know about the brain and sense of touch, Jack?" Pitch carefully selected one. They were all metal. Jack couldn't see what color they were. He didn't want to know that, either.

When Jack didn't respond, Pitch went on, walking closer to him. "The brain feels what the nerves in the flesh touch. Those nerves sent the message to the brain and the brain decides if they're painful, pleasant or neutral. This drug takes over each and every one of those nerves and sends out messages to the brain. The brain receives those messages as a very, _v__ery _high level of pain. I've never used this before, however."

He smiled down at Jack once again. "Let's put a test to it's...efficiency."

When Pitch brought the needle close to his wrist, Jack tried to pull away, but the straps held him close in place.

"Don't worry. It only lasts about...five hours. I'll leave you alone until it wears off." Pitch slid the needle into Jack's wrist- directly into the vein- and injected it. Nothing happened at first. Pitch pulled out a black strip of cloth, and tied it tightly over Jack's mouth. "Your screams are very obnoxious, at this point. I'll silence you for now."

Pitch simply turned and left. Jack gnawed viciously at the gag. Maybe he could chew through it. It made his mouth even more dry than it already was. He still didn't feel anything. Maybe Pitch was just using a scare tactic. _He hoped._

No. He felt a tickling, burning sensation bloom through his skin. Okay, not too bad.

Then it got worse, and worse. Oh God, he was on _fire. _But the pain grew, until Jack began to scream all over again. He twisted and pulled against the straps until they bit into his skin, and drew blood. More tears fell, but he didn't notice. The pain was everywhere. He couldn't pinpoint where it was. But the feel of the cloth of his clothes against his skin just made it worse. The feel of being touched by _anything _drew pain worse by tenfold. Jack screamed and cried and even prayed to God for it to end...but he never begged.

No way he'd ever be pushed that low. And no way would he ever help Pitch hurt Bunny, or Lifa. And if Pitch ever accomplished that, North...Tooth and Sandy...and then the children, Jamie and the gang, would all suffer.

Dammit, why did this pressure have to fall on him?

* * *

Bunny couldn't take the guilt anymore. He had to make sure Jack was okay. Well, Bunny himself wasn't. He'd hit a _child. _

_Oh, Man in Moon, Jack...I am so sorry. Please come home._

Home. Whenever Bunny applied the word "home" to Jack, he'd always think it was the Warren. Jack was usually there. He slept there. Bunny had even thought about building him a secluded spot, so he could make it as cold as he wanted, without disturbing the plants or spring air.

Where was Jack, anyway?

Bunny had checked Burgess, Jamie and Sophie's house, but he wasn't there. He wouldn't be with Tooth, Bunny knew that. Jack would never let her see him bruised and bloodied. But Bunny wasn't even sure he should go after him. Jack had made it clear he didn't want anything to do with Bunny...

And Bunny deserved what he got. Jack had nothing but good intentions, to help Bunny and all he'd done was hurt Jack for it. After three hundred years of having absolutely no one, the kid still wanted to just..._help _everyone.

_Just like Esmond. _

He wasn't trying to replace his son with Jack. No, nothing could ever replace his little Essie. But that didn't mean Jack wasn't just as important, or loved, to Bunny as Esmond had been. He wouldn't **_ever_**hit Esmond, not in a million years, he would never deal a single blow on him. Obviously, he'd just broken that rule with Jack...

Bunny looked up, frowning. The Northern lights were in the sky. Oh, crap. North and Tooth must be waiting to lecture him for what he'd done. But Jack might be there.

Time to go to the Pole.

* * *

It'd been hours and God knows how, but the pain just got _worse. _Jack's voice was long gone, having screamed it away to nothing. He lay as still and rigid as possible. Even the slightest jostle was unbearable. Didn't North realize he was gone yet?!

Obviously not, or he wouldn't still be suffering like this.

Wait, no, it was ebbing away. Jack finally relaxed, not realizing that he'd still been pulling against his restraints the entire time. Five hours. He'd been here for only five hours, and he could barely take anymore.

He stiffened against when he heard the door creak open and closed again. Something else was in the room now. Not Pitch. He recognized the feeling. From the lake.

Sure enough, Jack glanced to the side, and the Fearling was peering at him, grinning with it's rotting, black pointed teeth. Almost shark like. Jack bared his own teeth in a snarl. May as well try to be intimidating.

It laughed. God, Jack **_hated_**that sound. _"Hello again, Jackson. Did you miss me?" _it hooked it's claws into the front of his hoody, and ripped it apart, easily, along with the white t-shirt underneath, leaving his chest vulnerable. _"Pitch is busy. He said I could have fun with you until he came back."_

"I don't know what your definition of fun is, you sick creep, but it certainly doesn't match mine." Jack snarled, his voice hoarse and uneven. Tinny sounding, even.

He flinched when he felt the sharp point of a claw dig into the skin over his collarbone. It didn't pierce the skin. Yet.

"Don't touch me."

It dug into his skin, and blood trickled over his chest. "I said don't touch me, dammit!"

The Fearling didn't speak, just laughed, and the claw dug in further into it hit the bone. Then, it slowly dragged along the collar bone, slicing the skin open to expose the whiteness. Jack screamed as loud as he could. Huh. Turns out, he did still have a voice. "STOP IT!" he shrieked, "I DON'T KNOW WHERE THE WARREN IS! TELL PITCH I DON'T KNOW!"

The claws dug _under _the bone, and began to pull up with incredible strength. More shrieks tore themselves from Jack's throat. There was a disgusting squelching noise was the bone splintered and was pulled out of his body. Finally, the claws let go. Jack's collar bone, white and stained with blood, splintered, stuck up out of his chest. Jack gagged, and closed his eyes. He couldn't look at it.

He didn't notice when the Fearling left.

"Please...find me soon..." Jack whispered, pleaded. The Guardians had to come...They can't leave him in this Hell.

**A/N Messed up, right? Collar bone thing was improvised...Did you know it's the most commonly broken bone in a child's body? Anywho, I said it'd be a dark chapter. I'll crank out the next one right away.**

**Au Revoir, mon amis.**


	18. Chapter 18

Lifa was **_PISSED._**

For several reasons, of course. There was Pitch putting her to sleep again, all her memories, and then the fact that she had been incredibly underestimated. She'd prepared herself in case she'd ever need to banish darkness from her mind. Decades, _centuries _of meditation and focusing her mind and powers of light lead her to be nearly invulnerable to the darkness.

Nearly invulnerable...not completely. If she hadn't been infected so long ago, she could be invincible to it. But she wasn't. Darkness can only touch her now because of that damn old wound. It'll never heal. But her memories were back, and she was officially back in action.

Enough of this. Time to wake up.

The room filled with blinding light. When it finally cleared, Lifa was standing off the bed, and rooting through the wardrobe. "Time to get dressed for battle." she grinned.

* * *

"_WHAT THE BLOODY HELL DO YOU MEAN?!"_

North pinched the bridge of his nose, fending off a head ache. He was sitting at his desk, while Bunny paced back and force through his office. He'd just informed him that Jack had been taken by Pitch. It was obvious that he was the culprit. Nightmare sand had dusted the entire crime scene. "I mean that they're in danger and you must calm down if we are to fix this."

Bunny forced himself to stop yelling, but his fur remained bristled, and ears flattened. "When did this happen?"

"Jack came here about six hours ago, and visited Lifa. I suspected nothing wrong as the hours passed. After all, she is asleep. Jack must have wanted to stay with her. But after two hours, I investigated. Jack was gone, and Lifa's sleep was not caused by Sandy, or her memories returning. I sent Yeti's to search, Tooth's fairies but they found nothing."

"And you decide t' tell me about this _now?! _Those are my kids, North!"

North raised his eyebrows at "my kids" but said nothing. "We thought it best not to worry you if we could bring Jack home within a few hours. We could not. So here you are."

"Pitch has Jack. Do you have any idea what Pitch will _do _to him?!" Bunny bellowed, slamming his paws down on the desk, startling North, who shook his head. "Nightmares...?"

"NO. You haven't known Pitch as long as I have, North! The man thrives by living with FEARLINGS. North, Pitch will torture Jack! He'll destroy him. Jack is brave, and he's strong, but Fearlings can break anyone." Bunny snarled.

He would know. They broke him, too.

North looked shocked. Guardian or not, the idea of torture never entered his mind. North had always been associated with children, toys, wonder, happiness. But Bunny was practically born from having to start new again after mass destruction. He knew everything about war, and Fearlings. North, Tooth...they didn't. Sandy, yes, he did, but he didn't have such close run-ins with them as Bunny did.

"We do not even know where Pitch's lair is. Where do we start, Aster?" North asked, despairing.

"You can start with an old war buddy." came a small, feminine voice. Not Tooth.

Bunny and North stared in shock as Lifa strolled through the office, carrying a journal in her hand. The young woman was dressed for war, golden armor shining, sword in it's sheath, bow and arrows in their quiver, her red cloak making her look even more intimidating. Her thick hair was pulled back in a ponytail to keep it out of the way. She slapped the journal down on the desk. "I have some ideas where Pitch would be," she began, ignoring North and Bunny's shocked looks, "He moves his lair around. But he has some go-to places."

"S-Sunny...you're..." Bunny stuttered. Lifa turned to him, "Amazing? Brilliant? Surprised you yet again?" she smirked.

Lifa yelped in surprise when Bunny caught her in a tight hug. "All of the above!" he said, overjoyed. North smiled once again. He didn't bother to question how Lifa had done it. She had, and from her change in attitude around him and Bunny, her memories must be back, and best of all, she was at peace with them.

Lifa squirmed, "Bunny...you're crushing me!"

"Sorry," Bunny let go of her, and Lifa landed on her feet again. Bunny had lifted her several inches off the floor. She straightened her cloak, "Why is everyone so huggy lately...? Good gods. Alright, well, I have a hunch on where Pitch's lair might be."

"We're listening." North spoke, looking at her attentively.

"Well, since I'm obviously closely involved, he might have some...nostalgia to deal with. I've narrowed it down to somewhere in Norway. Now, I'm not saying my old island, Berk, is the top choice. No, it'd be somewhere darker. You don't know about this place, but it's called Outcast Island. Banished Vikings lived there. Criminals, murderers, and the like." Lifa flipped through the journal, and pointed at a map. "Right about here. The weather is cloudy, shitty, it's a rocky island with barely any life, it's dark and foreboding."

"Pitch would be right at home," Bunny mused, "And it's isolated, too. We haven't even heard of this place before. Meaning..."

"Pitch would know we wouldn't look there." North finished.

"You're a genius." Bunny told Lifa, who tucked her bangs out of her eyes and smiled a little, "Alright, enough with complimenting me."

She drew her sword, and inspected the edge. "Let's go get our Frostbite."


	19. Chapter 19

Jack thought that it couldn't get much worse, but it did. Pitch had decided to "help" him by preventing him from bleeding to death from the wound the Fearling had inflicted on him. How did he stop the bleeding?

He burned the wound shut using a red hot fireplace poker. Did he bother resetting the bone? Of course not.

After that, he'd whipped Jack. He'd forced Jack to lay on the floor, stomach down, and whipped him until Jack couldn't stay awake anymore. Then Pitch left him to the nightmares. Jack's back, shoulders, arms, backs of his legs, even the soles of his feet were covered in angry, red bleeding welts. And as much as he wished he didn't have to, he had to lay on his back, because of his protruding collar bone. God knows the last time this floor as cleaned...Jack hoped he wouldn't get an infection of some sort.

He didn't fall asleep. He forced himself to stay awake, no matter how drained and dehydrated his poor body was. Jack couldn't take anymore torture, especially in his own mind. He'd go insane, he was sure of it.

Jack curled up on his side. This position was a little better. Jack cradled both of his hands against his chest, not looking at them. He didn't want to see the broken, bruised fingers. He'd already been sick earlier, and now there was nothing left in his stomach. But even just looking at the injuries he'd received made him feel sick all over again, and he'd made the mistake of doing so. Dry heaving for ten minutes was not comfortable, especially being sore as he was.

Speaking of being sore, it was about to get even worse (if that was possible). Pitch was entering the room again, carrying Jack's staff.

Why couldn't it just be _over?!_

* * *

Bunny was miserable. North had decided to take the sleigh. Tooth was sitting next to him, equipped with a hunting knife as long as her arm (Lifa insisted everyone must be armed, regardless of the fact that Tooth could kick ass just by throwing some good punches.) Lifa was flying in front, her wings easily letting her match the speed. She was leading the way there.

"Lifa, how much farther?" Tooth shouted over the wind.

"A couple more kilometers! Pick up the pace!" she replied, increasing the speed, much to Bunny's despair. The sleigh did the same.

Bunny felt a pang of guilt. Forget the damn sleigh ride, this was the fastest way to get to the island. And to Jack. After having that thought in his head, the initial terror of the sleigh ride was replaced with the overwhelming fear of Jack's well being.

Where were they going to find when they got there? Would there be anything left of him to bring home? What if Pitch had simply just killed him? Or given him to the Fearlings?

_Man in Moon, please let us take him home safe. _Aster prayed.

* * *

As Pitch strolled across the floor, Nightmare sand flooded into the room, with a water-like behavior. Jack immediately scrambled back as fast as he could. Forget looking brave. He just wanted to get away from the mad man.

"Oh, poor Jack. Is something ailing you, child?" Pitch asked sweetly. Jack hated that voice.

"I was thinking, Jack, about how you died. And I was wondering if I could...replicate that fear. However, I didn't want to soak my own home in the ocean."

Jack cringed.

"So I decided sand would be just as suffocating," Pitch looked positively full of glee. The level of nightmare sand in the room began to ride several inches per second. Jack panicked. Pitch was going to drown him. "Pitch, don't, please..." Jack pleaded, his voice fragile and barely audible.

Pitch sighed, "I don't like having to repeat myself, Jack. If you would just tell me what I want to know, I'll leave you in peace."

"And I told you, I don't know," Jack all but sobbed as the level of sand rose to his waist. "I don't know where the Warren is...I don't know anything...I didn't even know Bunny could use magic until you said so!" he cried desperately. It was almost to his shoulders now.

"And I say you're lying. I hope you can swim, Jack. I highly doubt you can."

Pitch's sadistic grin was the last thing Jack saw before he clenched his eyes chest and the nightmare sand went over his head.

It wasn't silent, like it would be under water. But Jack wished it was. The sand attacked his mind, played tricks on his ears. He could hear his mother, sister and father screaming. Bunny and Lifa, too...everyone he loved was suffering somehow, all around him, and he couldn't move or see. _It's not real. _He told himself desperately, uselessly.

He couldn't hold his breathe anymore. He gasped, and the nightmare sand poured down his throat, into his stomach and lungs, burning and scraping. The sand clung to his injuries, stung in the welts, tore open his collarbone wound again, and stuck in it, soaked and sticky with the new flow of blood. The raging black sea of the sand tossed him around, jostling his broken bones.

Finally, the dark torrent receded, dropping him back on the floor at Pitch's feet. Pitch reached down, and seized Jack by his hair, which was now ash gray from the sand and stained with ugly brown patches from dried blood, it's pretty pristine whiteness gone. Jack moaned in protest, and immediately regretted making any noise. His throat was dry, and raw from the sand and dehydration. Pitch dragged him back over to the table, and strapped him down once again.

Pitch took out Jack's staff once again, and held a long, devastatingly sharp knife over it. Jack realized in horror what was happening. He pleaded in a broken whisper, "Don't...not this...please...no!"

Pitch ignored him, and impaled the age old wood with the blade, and dragged it through the wood. Jack shrieked, and he back arched off the table. The straps still held, though, biting in his skin, opening new and old cuts. _"I DON'T KNOW, I DON'T KNOW, I DON'T..." _Jack screeched over and over, those three words that Pitch never believed. The gash in the wood replicated itself on Jack's body. The slash started at the side of his neck, snaked over his shoulder (the right one, opposite of his collar bone wound) across his chest, over his side, hip, and ended on the side of his leg, just above his knee.

Pitch had constantly tormented his staff, and in turn, Jack's soul. His soul had been burned, bent, twisted, strangled, and now, gashed. And finally, Pitch snapped the staff over his knee for the second time. Every bit of air left Jack's lungs. No scream could voice this pain.

Jack's struggles ended and he went limp. Pitch looked annoyed. Deciding to jolt Jack awake, he took a pair of tongs and lifted a hot coal from the fire place, and placed it on Jack's chest. Jack jolted back into consciousness, screaming, and once again claiming he didn't know anything.

"For every time you say "I don't know", you'll get another coal, Jack."

But Jack didn't hear him say that, and kept muttering those three words. Coal after coal, he burned and screamed. He didn't realize when his words changed, to a plead. Not for Pitch to stop, or for death or mercy. No, he turned into a child crying out for the one adult he trusted to help him.

Bunny. He began crying out for his best friend, his family member. Pitch roared with laughter as Jack pleaded for his family to come and make the hurting stop.

* * *

Bunny jumped out of the sleigh before it was three feet above the ground, and was already sniffing the air. Lifa ran across the dirt, sheathing her sword, and notching an arrow. Each arrow was created from sunlight, and the sunlight disbanded into it's natural state on impact. It's natural state? Searing hot light particles that vaporized on contact. One way ticket to a Fearling's death. She'd given Bunny's boomerangs a covering of light, as well with everyone else's weapons, and tweaked Bunny's egg grenades. Now they exploded light as well as colorful smoke.

"Here's the game plan," she whispered, everyone following, "Tooth, North and Sandy will take the outside. We need you out there to keep our escape clear. Bunny and I will go after Jack. We're both healers, and I know my way around there. And Bunny and I work best as a stealthy duo. We'll be in and out within a half hour. Anything that's not Jack or us, kill it on sight. Any questions?"

Sandy nodded, and Tooth and North looked at each other like _who-the-heck-put-the-red-runt-in-command?_

That was a good plan. Bunny liked that plan. That meant he could personally kick Pitch's ass for getting near Jack. And that was just the beginning of it.

"ON YOUR LEFT!" Tooth shouted suddenly, pointed behind Bunny. Before Bunny could react, an arrow sailed back his head and thunked into a Nightmare's eye. Light flashed, and it was gone. Lifa notched another arrow, "Good eye, Toothiana. Let's move out."

* * *

Bunny and Lifa had long since separated from the rest of the group. Lifa had jumped fearlessly into the hole of darkness, and now she and Bunny were making their way down the corridor, stealthy and silent. Lifa glowed softly, providing light. A natural reaction of hers.

And then they heard it.

Blood curdling screams, echoing through the whole structure of the lair. Bunny bristled, but Lifa held him back, saying softly, "No doubt that's Jack...and it's not a trick. He's alive. But you can't alert anything that we're here."

Bunny glared at her, "Listen to him!"

"I know," her gold eyes softened, "But we have to be careful, or we can't help him, Aster. Let's keep going."

Bunny forced himself to listen to her reasoning. Lifa was right. But his heart felt like it was being twisted by cold, mercilessly cruel claws. He flattened his ears, trying to block the shrieks out.

By the time the duo rounded the corner, they realized Pitch knew they were there. Fearlings waited for them. Lifa fired off an arrow into the air, lighting of the room, and forcing the Fearlings to shrink back. "You take the ones on the left!" She ordered, drawing her sword. Bunny took two grenades from his belt.

They were waist deep in darkness five minutes into the battle.

* * *

Jack heard Lifa's voice. And Bunny's. Hope replaced most of his fear right then. _They came._

Pitch grimaced. "Nuisances. Well, Jack, I suppose you really know nothing."

Jack nearly started crying all over again, he was so relieved. Pitch might stop hurting him now. But when Pitch undid the straps and hauled Jack to his feet, his hope shattered when Pitch said, "I have only one use for you now. Stay quiet, and be a good hostage, Jack."

Keeping Jack's staff gripped in one hand, and his free arm locked over Jack's throat, he dragged the broken winter spirit out of the room, to the battlefield.

* * *

Lifa and Bunny had nearly cleared away all the Fearlings when Bunny went rigid, like he was receiving an electric shock. He knew this feeling. He hated it. It made him sad, angry, and sick all at once.

Someone just lost hope.

Bunny felt it during particular times in history. The World Wars, Civil and Revolutionary war, the Great Famine in Ireland, the Plague...and it'd been the worst years of his life, right after losing his family.

He grew ill, constantly, and the other Guardians had to keep him bedridden. Fevers, chills, lung infections, the list went on. Most foods he couldn't stomach, either. Only when those horrible times ended did people regain their hope, and did Bunny recover. But this was far worse. It went deeper. Jack had just lost hope. If Bunny had gotten there sooner...

"ASTER!" Lifa's voice pierced through his haze, and he snapped back into reality. Lifa opened her mouth and was about to say something when instead she choked and dropped to her knees, her sword clattering out of her hand. The Fearling behind her cackled as it snapped it's tail back behind it's body. It'd just slashed Lifa's side open. It'd tail swung around again, wrapping around her thin frame and the end of it around her neck, strangling her. Lifa put up a good fight, but she was small, and now weaponless, losing blood and air.

"PUT HER DOWN!" Bunny bellowed, already readying his own weapons.

"I don't think you can make demands right now," Pitch's voice came from behind Bunny.

Bunny whirled around, ready to attack, but he froze.

Pitch had one arm wrapped around Jack, his hand gripping Jack's staff- _What the hell has he done do it?! _Bunny thought- and the other hand holding a black knife of nightmare sand against Jack's throat. Jack barely seemed aware of what was happening. His shirt and hoody were gone, (literally ripped apart until they couldn't be deemed wearable anymore) and his pants were tattered, and blood stained. Welts, gashes bruises, and burns littered every inch of his pale skin. Even his hair was discolored, ashen gray and ugly brown with what Bunny knew to be dried blood. When Bunny saw Jack's hands, bones broken and fingers twisted, his stomach roiled. But then he saw Jack's collar bone protruding- almost vertically- out of his chest.

"Y-you..." Bunny could barely speak, he was so enraged and horrified. Finally, he found his voice. "_YOU FUCKING MONSTER! WHAT THE HELL HAVE YOU DONE TO HIM?!"_

"Tsk...I see where the boy gets his language from," Pitch chided. He dug the edge of the blade into Jack's throat, and a thin stream of blood trickled down, "I'd appreciate it if you didn't yell. You're in no position to be so confident. Look around, Bunnymund."

Bunny flinched at the sight of even more of Jack's blood. He dared to look away, and saw Lifa pinned to the ground by the Fearling's tail. It'd strangled her into silence. No, she wasn't dead. She was still glaring at everything but Bunny and Jack. Perfectly conscious and ready to kill.

"I have one advantage." Bunny growled.

"And what is that?" Pitch sounded amused. Jack lifted his head slightly, hearing Bunny's voice. His cracked, dry lips barely formed the word. "Bunny...?"

"I told you to be quiet," Pitch snarled, dropping Jack's staff, and seizing his collarbone with his now free hand and pulling. Jack's head immediately shot up and he shrieked in pain. The scream was broken by a sob when Pitch let go, and Jack went limp, only held up by Pitch's arm wrapped around him.

Bunny snapped. "My advantage is that you are a lot taller than Jack!" he roared, and threw both boomerangs. They simultaneously smashed into Pitch's face, knocking him backwards and letting Jack fall. Jack cried out in pain when his battered body thudded to the ground, and lay there, moaning. Bunny wasted no time bounding forward.

Bunny tossed some grenades over his shoulder as he did, the light exploding and fending off the Fearlings. All he could do was hope Lifa used that to escape.

She most definitely did. Pitch got to his feet, nose broken and certainly several teeth knocked loose. Lifa snatched up her sword and was at his throat in a second, "Get. Back." she snarled, holding the blade against his neck. "We are taking Frostbite home. Make one move, and I'll finally satisfy my curiosity!"

"Curiosity...of what?" Pitch asked, confused. How was Lifa **_AWAKE_**?

Lifa grinned her she-wolf like grin. "What color your blood is...black or red? Or nightmare sand, _hmm_?" Pitch visibly looked a little intimidated. He had no doubt she'd answer that question for herself, if he gave her a reason. He'd misjudged his advantages...

Meanwhile, Bunny gathered Jack in his arms, shaking him gently. "Come on, Snowflake, stay with me. Stay awake." Jack moaned, and his eyelids fluttered. "C-can't..."

"Yes, you can." Bunny encouraged, "Just a little longer." Sliding one arm under Jack's legs and the other behind his shoulders, he carefully stood up, cradling the teenager. "Lifa! We gotta go!"

"Good bye, **_Father_**," Lifa spat out the word father venomously, as an insult, "Next time, I'll crush your larynx." She slammed the butt of her sword into Pitch's head, not giving him a chance to retaliate, and literally knocked the Nightmare King out for the count. Jack would've laughed...

Bunny turned, and ran down the corridor. Lifa bent down, and picked up the two pieces of Jack's staff, sliding them securely into her quiver of arrows. She had her own conduit of power, and she recognized Jack's own conduit the second she saw it. She turned to Bunny, saw him already running, and followed close behind, firing arrows and keeping Fearlings off their tail.

They'd won, for now. They had Jack, and they were taking him home.

* * *

"NORTH! GET THE SLEIGH READY!" Bunny shouted as he and Lifa burst out of the lair, Fearlings close behind. Lifa only had so many arrows.

North, Tooth and Sandy were certainly busy, fending off Nightmares. North wasted not time following Bunny's orders.

"Everyone in the sleigh!" North bellowed, taking the reigns. Tooth and Sandy were already there, and Bunny followed. "Take him," Bunny held Jack up to the sleigh. Tooth, shocked and horrified, numbly followed the order and gently pulled Jack in the sleigh, letting his head rest in her lap.

"Oh, no..." her eyes filled with tears. "Our poor sweet tooth..."

Jack moaned, shifting and squirming in pain. Tooth shushed and cooed to him softly, running her fingers gently through his air, removing the tangles. Jack quieted, and leaned into the comforting touch.

_"LIFA! _We're leaving, come on!" Bunny yelled. Lifa was still keeping the Fearlings back. As soon as she heard Bunny, her wings formed once again and she sky rocketed into the air. The sun was setting. How would she fly if there was no sunlight?

The sleigh took off, jostling and rocking. Jack cried out in pain at being knocked around. Bunny flinched visibly. "North, get us back fast. Use a snowglobe!"

North nodded, and did just that, calling out to Lifa in Russian to draw her attention.

Pitch staggered out of the lair just in time to see them go through the Portal. Lifa noticed him, and narrowed her eyes. This wasn't over. She would settle the score with Pitch. Pitch knew that. Her gold eyes _burned _when they gazed at him.

And then she followed the sleigh into the portal back to Santoff Clausen.


	20. Chapter 20

"Everyone, inside!" Lifa shouted, jumping off the sleigh. She shoved the great double doors of the building open-_Hey, it's like Hogwarts, _she thought- and waved everyone in. Bunny was already running down the hall, full speed, to the infirmary. North was carrying Jack, and Tooth and Sandy were keeping watch in case they were followed.

"Everyone in? Good." Lifa pulled the doors shut. Gods, they were heavy. She needed to do some training, and work out.

"LIFA. I need you in here!" Bunny shouted from the infirmary.

Oh, right. Jack!

Lifa ran into the infirmary, and was already rolling up her sleeves. Jack was shuddering and convulsing. "He's gone into shock. I'm going to heal him."

"_You're going to what?!"_ Tooth, North and Bunny protested, and Sandy shook his head violently.

"I have too! His heart's going to burst like a balloon in a coupla seconds!" she snapped, placing her hands on Jack's chest and trying to hold him down. Jack coughed violently, and his lips glistened red. "See? He's bleeding from the inside, we don't have enough time to cut him open and stitch him up!"

"Lifa, it'll bounce back on you." Tooth tried to pull her away, half not wanting too. It actually might be Jack's one chance. Lifa shrugged her off, and clenched her eyes shut with concentration, "I'll be fine. Trust me."

Bunny DID trust her, but North and Tooth still had to hold him back. Lifa flinched as Jack's struggles stilled. At first, nothing happened. She went rigid as his burns and cuts sealed shut and faded. The gash inflicted from his staff's own injury closed up, leaving a faint, pink scar. He'd probably brag about it later...

Lifa cried out in pain as Jack's ribs clicked back into place, and the skin beneath the collar bone wound opened. The collarbone popped back into place, the splintered white repairing itself and the wound closing. Jack just lay there, eyes wide open as this happened. Still in shock. The sun, outside the window, visibly dipped below the skyline. The sun had set. Lifa should _not _be awake. It's strain on her showed.

"Lifa, that's enough, he's stable..." Tooth said softly, pulling her back. "You're hurting yourself."

Tooth's theory was confirmed when Lifa dropped to her knees, doubled over with her hands on the floor and vomited blood as every one of the Guardians rushed forward to her aid.

* * *

The others were talking in the fireplace parlor. Bunny stayed behind with Jack and Lifa. Lifa had suffered what could be described as an episode of tuberculosis. However, it was temporary, lasting only about an hour. As long as they could keep her breathing, she'd be fine. The disease passed, her own healing powers automatically expelling it. Now she just desperately needed sleep. Lifa was now tucked into a cot a few feet away from Jack's curled up and clutching a stuffed animal dragon, a homemade child's toy. She'd asked for it before she'd fallen asleep and Tooth's fairies brought it. After that, Lifa finally settled down.

Jack hadn't been completely healed, however. He was still covered in bruises, some burns had yet to fade, and his bones were fragile. If he got bashed around enough, they'd break again. Bunny had sat him up to make him drink water, and noticed all the barely healed welts on his back. He was getting a salve at the moment to prevent infection. He came back, and started making Jack sit up again. "Sorry, Snowflake."

Jack moaned, shaking his head, mumbling, "No...hurts, please..."

"I know, but this is going help, "Bunny cooed. Actually, it was going to burn a lot, but it was for Jack's own good. "You'll get sick unless I do this."

Jack remained silently, but obligingly leaned forward. Bunny began applying the salve to the welts, and Jack immediately let out a highpitched keen of pain. It stung like hell. Bunny murmured an apology, but kept working. Jack didn't cry out, no matter how much it hurt. This certainly wasn't as bad as...no. He wasn't thinking about it. Bunny was helping him, that's all that mattered. But still...he hadn't stopped being in pain for nearly two days.

Bunny taped the gauze over the wounds to keep them clean. "Alright, you can lay down now." Jack practically collapsed back into the soft pillows. It felt amazing against his sore muscles. Bunny tucked the cool blanket over him, and placed a cold, wet cloth on his fore head, frowning. Jack's average body temperature was about fifty seven degrees, thirty degrees lower than a normal human. His current temperature was sixty four. That was a raging fever to Jack. In fact, he was practically drenched in sweat. The winter spirit should never be this warm.

"Alright...get some sleep." Bunny settled into the chair that sat between Lifa and Jack's bed.

Jack's eyes remained wide open. Bunny waited nearly ten minutes before sighing, "Pitch can't give you nightmares here, Snowflake. It's okay to fall asleep."

Jack's hands curled into fists, "No...I can't. Nightmare sand."

"There isn't any here."

"It's inside me," Jack croaked. Bunny sat bolt upright, "_WHAT?!"_

Jack flinched visibly when Bunny yelled, as if he expected a blow. Bunny immediately felt guilty, and apologized. He asked again, "What do you mean inside you?"

Jack took a deep breath, "P-Pitch tried to...scare me...by copying how I died. But instead of w-water..the room flooded. With Nightmare sand. And I-I...I j-just couldn't h-hold my b-breath...any more...I swallowed Nightmare sand, even breathed it in...on accident."

Bunny could only stare. He bowed his head, feeling like the stress as crushing him. Jack was...what was the word for it? Tainted? Infected?

"Alright, Jackie. I'll stay awake with you until Lifa is up. Maybe she can do something about it. She heals, after all, and her powers are purely light. I'm sure she can help you."

Jack gazed at Bunny dubiously, "Are you sure? Absolutely?"

Aster nodded. Jack held out his hand, little finger extended. "Promise me."

Bunny smiled, reminded how Lifa would demand a promise in very much the same way, and reached out, pinky promising. "I promise." _No wonder he and Lifa are friends._

Jack leaned back, looking at the ceiling. He thought he'd never get out of that Hell, and yet, here he was, talking to Bunny, patched up and the pain being driven out of his body. Except for the pain he felt from his staff's condition. It was a faint, dull ache, but sometimes it would heighten unexpectedly, and Jack couldn't even breathe. But he wasn't strong enough to repair his staff yet, so there was nothing to be done. Unfortunately, that pain had to happen now.

Bunny nearly had a stroke when Jack suddenly screamed, his back arching off the bed. Bunny jumped of the chair, and pushed him back down. "What is it?! What's wrong?!" he demanded. But Jack just lay there, gasping as he caught his breath. Bunny took it as a hint that he didn't want to talk about it. Fine.

"Scoot over," he said, plunking down on the bed next to Jack, putting his arm around the teenager's shoulders. Jack tensed for a moment, but decided he was okay with it. Better than being alone. In fact, Jack turned over and buried his face in Bunny's chest fur. After all that suffering, he was having a very hard time keeping it together. He didn't want to let Bunny see him break down in hysteric tears _again._

"I know it's bad now," Bunny murmured, stroking Jack's hair and hugging him tightly. "But it'll get better. Pain doesn't last forever, Jackie."

Jackie. Only his parents ever called him Jackie. That was just too much. Bunny only realized Jack was crying when he felt his fur growing wet. Shushing and cooing softly, he rocked Jack back and forth gently. Jack sobbed quietly, mumbling incoherently. Bunny was just glad he wasn't bottling anything up. And he felt immensely relieved to be able to hug Jack again, to have the boy out of harms way again.

He was still cradling the child when the sun came up.

* * *

**A/N Anyone recognize the ending? (hint hint: Bunny's story about the first night with his son) Alright, so I've gotten some requests/suggestions that I'm going to get to right away. Time to get down to business.**

**I might even complete some chapters tonight. Also, I have early Jazz choir tomorrow, but it's canceled. I'll get up at the same time anyway (an hour earlier) so I can cram in another chapter in either this story or An Account of The Misadventures of Sunburn and Frostbite.**

**Most of my followers on Tumblr are shipping Lifa and Jack now. Oh, boy...let me know what you think of them romantically. I have nothing against JackxOC but still, I'm not too keen on it. I at least want to develop Lifa's character more before I even begin to start thinking about throwing in romance, which I hadn't planned on to begin with. Feedback, pretty please.**

**Keep in mind, my tumblr friends might outvote you. o-o Work hard! Thanks for the reviews!**


	21. Chapter 21

Lifa sat up, blinking sleepily, and still cradling her dragon toy. She yawned. Boy, was she _tired._ Couldn't the sun take longer to come up? No, it couldn't. Her lifetime friend had to wake her up early everyday. Lifa swung her legs off the bed, muttering, "The gods hate me."

She picked up her satchel from the floor, shuffled across the room drowsily to the door that she was pretty sure was the bathroom. Thankfully, it was. Closing the door behind her, she began her morning routine.

After a very long shower, and getting dressed in jeans and her usual sandy beige longsleeve shirt and fur vest, she toweled off her hair, yanked a brush through it, and stepped out of the bathroom, observing the scene before her.

Bunny waved sleepily. "We've been awake all night. Jackie here...has some nightmare sand inside him. Wondering if you could fix it."

Lifa's gaze fell on Jack, who was laying back against Bunny's chest, sleeping with Bunny noticing. The half healed wounds- dammit, she could have done better than that!- and his filthy, matted hair made him look like a shell of the Guardian of Fun. She felt a pang in her chest. _Poor guy. Must have been through Hell, and yet he made it out..._

"Nothing needs to be done," she stated flatly. "If it was still a threat to him, he'd either be consumed, insane, sick or dead. Nothing is wrong. His body has already taken care of it. His powers must have neutralized it. His brain wouldn't have let him sleep if he was still infected. Let him sleep, and clean him up later."

"Asleep? Wha-" Bunny looked down to see Jack snoozing somewhat peacefully, "I wasn't paying attention!"

"You were exhausted. Have you been up since we got back?"

"Yes."

"Dear to Thor..." She muttered, taking off her cloak, and hanging it up again. "Sleep. Now." she ordered, shooing Bunny onto his feet. "I can take care of Jokul. You need what, twelve hours of sleep? No offence, old friend, but you look like...well...like shit."

Bunny was about to protest, laying Jack back against the pillows. Jack's brow creased and he looked almost...pained at the absence of his friend. "I can stay awake a little longer, really..."

"You're trembling, Aster." Lifa pushed Bunny across the room, the Pooka protesting all the way.

"I am FINE-" He started again, but Lifa simply chirped, "Nope!" and slammed the door in his face.

She turned around, planting her hands on her hips. Now it was her job to get Jack back on his feet.

"Let's get to it," she marched across the room, and shook him awake. Jack jolted awake, and cried out in terror, and Lifa immediately regretted not being gentle. "It's okay, it's okay! Calm down!"

"LET ME GO!" he shouted as Lifa locked her own skinny arms around Jack's thin body, and tried to keep him from thrashing around and hurting himself. "Please, I just want to go home!" he choked.

"It's just me, It's Lifa, dammit!" she hissed, having a surprisingly hard time keeping Jack still. Why was even he bigger than her?

"S-sunny?"

"Yes!"

Jack blinked several times, as if there was fog behind his eyes. It felt like there was. As his vision came into focus, his doubt melted away. Thick, dark coppery brown curled hair, big gold eyes, freckles...Yep. It was her. "Oh, thank God...I thought...for a minute...I was..."

"Still back there. No, Jokul. You're nowhere close to that place." Lifa sat down on the edge of the bed next to him. Jack fell silent. Dammit, why did she have to be here and see him this way? A pathetic, broken mess. He nearly jumped out of his skin when Lifa laughed softly, and ruffled his gray and dried-blood brown hair, saying, "Let's get you cleaned up."

Lifa helped Jack to his feet, and Jack tried his best not to lean on her entirely. Lord, she was tiny. But Lifa was a lot stronger than she looked, and had an easy time helping Jack over to the bathroom and sitting him down on the bathmat by the tub. She took the shower head off the holder, "Let's wash your hair out, okay? Here." she handed him a towel. Jack wrapped it over his shoulders.

Jack felt better than he had in days when the ice cold water his head. Leaning back, he relaxed while Lifa rinsed the dirt, blood and nightmare sand from his hair until it was it's natural snowy white again. Lifa turned off the water, and Jack sat up. Her facial expression was too serious.

Deciding to lighten the mood, he shook his hair out like a dog, sending water everywhere and earning a loud "OI!" from Lifa as she ducked to avoid getting wet. But she smiled, even though trying to hide it, and that made Jack feel better.

Jack stumbled to his feet, and glanced at the mirror. He certainly looked more like himself. If not for having a dead man's eyes...No. He was going to be okay. He had to be. He was alive, wasn't he? He'd survived.

Lifa walked out of the bathroom, and came back holding a new blue hoody and other clothes for him. "I know the jeans aren't your thing, but you can just wear these until I sew your pants back into shape. They're pretty torn up." Jack looked down, and realized she was right. They just barely covered his knees, the rest of the pant legs in tatters. He smiled wearily, and took the neatly folded clothes.

Lifa waited outside as Jack got dressed, sitting on the floor between the two cot beds, and sorting through her selection of threads for the right brown color. She wanted to match it as close to the fabric's color as possible, so it wasn't noticeable Jack's clothes ever had to be repaired. The less evidence of the ordeal, the better.

Jack came out, now wearing clean clothes and carrying his torn up pants, and sat down next to her, setting the article of clothing on the floor. Lifa immediately got to working, pressing her lips in a thin line as she threaded the needle and began stitching.

Jack was the one who broke the silence. "Thank you, again."

Lifa shrugged in response. "No big deal."

"It is a big deal. Bunny told me...he told he you guys probably wouldn't have found me...without you. That means...I would've been stuck in that place."

Her hands froze for a moment, then continued working. Jack noticed how scarred they were, and calloused. "Liffy, you saved me."

"It's not a big deal," she repeated, avoiding his gaze.

"Tell me why not."

Lifa went rigid, and forced herself to relax. "Because what happened to you happened to me. A few times. To you, it's a big deal. To me? Just another thing to move on from. Your welcome, if that's what you wanted to hear."

_Oh. Dear. God._

"You've been TORTURED?! When? Who did it?!" Jack leaned forward, demanding an explanation. Lifa lurched backwards, eyes wide. Jack was a little too close for comfort.

"It was a very, very long time ago. About two hundred years after I became...well, this." she gestured to her golden eyes, and formed a small sun in her hand, then closed her fist, extinguishing it.

"Who did it?" Jack demanded again.

"They're long dead, Jokul. Stop worrying about it. The point is, to me, this is no big deal. And you're just as strong as I am. You'll get better, just like I did. The nightmares will go away, and the scars will fade. It's- OW!"

Lifa examined the swelling-in-size bead of blood on her finger. She hadn't been watching the needle, and jabbed it into her not-holding-a-needle hand's pointer finger that had been holding the fabric in place. "The gods hate me." she muttered, officially embarrassed. There goes the inspirational speech she'd been building up for Jack.

"Did you- Yep, you did." Jack reached out and took her hand without warning. "You're hopeless, Sunburn." he smiled, and reached under the cot bed behind him, and pulled out the first aid kid, "There'll be some band aids in here."

While Jack rooted around in the box for a bandaid, Lifa smiled, debating whether or not to just heal the wound. But Jack seemed well distracted, and cheerful, and maybe that was best. "Here you go," he said, wrapping the band aid around her finger. "Hope that's better."

"Mhm," she hummed, going back to sewing. "Takk*, Jokul."

Jack assumed "takk" meant thanks, and smiled at her. "Your accent is cute."

Lifa snapped her head up to look at him, "_What did you say?"_

"Adorable. Go on, say something else."

"You must still have a fever, you're delirious." she deadpanned.

"Cute." Jack repeated, staring at her almost dreamily as she stood up and got a thermometer, anxious to find an excuse to shut him up, and get him to stop looking at her. _Really? Come on! The gods hate me. _She thought as her cheeks burned red.

Jack's fever measured to be nine degrees higher than his average body temperature.

* * *

**A/N attempted some Jack and Lifa fluff. Did you guys know my tumblr pals are brainstorming a ship name for them? Since Jack is a trickster, and Lifa's is ultra sassy, they're calling it TrickySass so far. And then there's the intimidating one, FrostBurn or SunBite (Frostbite and Sunburn put together) yes, people are shipping my OC with Jack. I never thought it would happen. They may or may not end up together. People are still debating. My tumblr inbox is fucking hell. I'm enjoying the attention hehehe.**

**Takk- Norwegian for Thank you**

**But seriously, you guys needs to review and tell me what you think of them together. I mean, I'm still developing Lifa's character throughout the story, so you might want to decide again AFTER you know her better. Idgf either way, they're somewhat compatible. I didn't originally intend them to be together. **

**Also, a coupla pals of mine thought it'd just be adorable if Jack was goofy and delirious when his fever got too high. I'll crank out the next chapter soon, expect it before Friday. **

**I LOVE YOU ALL AU REVOIR!**


	22. Chapter 22

Bunny had decided it was okay to let Lifa take care of Jack. She was capable. Aster walked slowly to the parlor, where the others were. North was observing the workshop, plotting something. He barely grunted in reply when Tooth greeted him, and fell face first into an empty couch. Tooth chuckled quietly, "He's exhausted."

"I am _fine." _Came Bunny's muffled reply.

"Mhmm, I'm sure. Did our little Miss Sunshine kick you out?"

"She's short and too bossy for her own good." Bunny griped, sitting up to look at Tooth, who was sitting in an arm chair on the other side of the coffee table. The fire in the hearth to their right crackled and blazed pleasantly. Peaceful, warm...

"Bunny...is Jack...okay?" Tooth ventured.

"Physically? Yeah...I think. I dunno. His life ain't in danger, but he just started...screamin' again, and he was in pain, but I couldn't find a wound on him. He didn't wanna tell me why." Bunny replied, rubbed his eyes tiredly. "And his mental state...I just dunno. Tooth, I hit him. Before this all happened."

Tooth stared, shocked. Bunny continued, "I...he tried...He came to the Warren after you talked to him, and I told him to rack off. And then he snapped, and started yelling at me."

"And what did he say?" Tooth inquired quietly.

"He said...That I'm trying to replace my son with him and...I was being a coward. And I needed help."

"You do."

"Yeah, so I talked to him. I told him about the first night I spent with my son, when he was a newborn." Bunny smiled, although it was just to mask his grief, "How I never put the kid down once, how terrified I was...And then Jack tried to get me to keep talking, and I wouldn't. He kept pesterin' me, and I got up and tried to leave, and he grabbed my arm, tried to keep me from ditchin' 'im...and then I belted him one in the face."

"Bunny..."

"And not an hour after that, _That madman takes him."_

_"_Bunnymund."

"What?!"

Tooth flitted over and lay her hand on his shoulder, "Jack let you hug him?"

Bunny frowned, "Y-yeah...?"

"Then that's the end of it. He trusts you."

Bunny was about to argue with her, but he realized she was right. Jack hadn't just LET Bunny hold him, but he'd practically clung to Bunny the whole time. Jack, however he didn't wish to admit it, needed and craved physical contact. He needed so much love and affection to make up for those three hundred years of isolation. And Bunny was the one Jack had let in to help him heal from the loneliness. Jack forgave him.

"You're right." Bunny sighed. Tooth smiled.

"I'm always right." she chirped.

* * *

Lifa stared out the window. Gods, it was beautiful outside. Pure white landscape, blueish shadows, clear blue sky and the blinding white sun in the sky. Of course, to her, it wasn't blinding. Lifa could look directly at the sun with less difficulty of looking at an ordinary light bulb. She almost wished she could be out there, but...

Jack came first. She opened the window, originally what she'd been standing there for. Pulling her cloak tight around her, Lifa shivered as she walked across the room, and sat down in the chair next to his bed. Jack was sleeping. Lifa replaced the cloth on his forehead. His fever was going down, but not quickly enough.

Maybe she could heal it. But what would happen to her if she tried? Last time, she'd come down with a fatal disease. It'd only lasted an hour, but still...No. Forget about herself. Jack needed to get better _now. _

Kneeling down at his bedside, she folded her arms on the edge of the bed under her chin, looking at him. She'd never been fond of the color white, always thinking it was boring. But she liked it now. His hair was beautiful. She even liked winter a little better. Still didn't like being cold, though.

Jack stiffened, and gasped quietly as pain jolted through his body. Lifa was immediately on high alert. What was wrong with him? He shouldn't be in pain. Unless...

"Jeg er en _tosk!" _(a/n translation: I am a fool!)

His staff! Of course. Lifa ducked down, and pulled her quiver out from her bed. The two pieces of his staff rested in it with her arrows.

"O-oh my...gods...Jokul." she ran her fingers over the burns and gash. Jack shivered, but it wasn't from pain. It was...a good feeling. Like being caressed. It eased the discomfort in his soul. Lifa was unaware of the exchange.

She set the two pieces on the nightstand, and shook Jack awake. Jack jolted, "Hah? Wha?"

"Can you fix this?" she demanded, pointing at his staff.

Jack blinked out of his fevered haze, and understood. "Y-yeah...burns and the gash, though...never tried that."

"Well, you need too. Now."

"I don't think I can..." Jack mumbled. He just wanted to sleep.

"Yes, you can, and you're gonna." Lifa shoved the broken staff into Jack's hands. That stubborn "yes, you can" is probably the closest "I believe in you" Jack would get from her. He sighed in resignation, and took his staff, fitting the pieces together.

"Step back." He said.

Lifa obeyed, backing up to the window. Jack took a deep breath, in and out, steadying himself. One...two...

Three.

Pale blue and white light filled the room, shining out of each damaged piece of the staff. Jack's headed snapped back and he went rigid, eyes blazing white, teeth clenched in a barely contained scream. Lifa staggered back against the window sill, shivering uncontrollably as the temperature in the room dropped thirty degrees within seconds.

When the light finally faded, Jack was hunched forward, clutching his repaired staff and wheezing. Lifa stepped forward to help, but stopped in relief when Jack sat up and smiled at her. His fever was clearly gone. All better. That's all he'd needed, staff repair. In fact, he stood up shakily, steadied himself and walked over to her. "Hey, how'd you know this would make me better?"

"I have my own...conduit." she said simply, hopping up and sitting on the window sill. Jack stifled a snicker. Her feet didn't quite reach the floor. _Runt._

"What? Your sword?"

Lifa smiled, "No. This." She reached into her shirt collar, and pulled out a leather cord. A simple necklace, with a rose quarts circle tied to the cord, and some black and shiny fitted into the quarts. It looked like a...scale. A small, shimmering reptilian scale. "It's...a gift."

"From who?"

Lifa glanced out the window. "Daddy- er...my father. My _real _father, from before I became what I am now. He made this for me, to keep me safe. It does." her fingers closed around the necklace tightly.

"Oh...hey, my father made me a pair of shoes once."

"What happened to them?"

"I lost them...in a tree. I was barefoot since."

Lifa burst out laughing, and Jack grinned. Good. She was starting to look sad. "Try to cheer up, Sunburn. Serious faces don't suit you. Smiles are better."

"Please, I have a terrible smile," she snorted in disbelief.

Jack looked aghast, "No one had a terrible smile! Except P-Pitch...but I like your smile. It's lopsided. It suits you."

"How...?"

"Because you're mad." Jack made a coo-coo sign by waving his finger by his head. "As a hatter!"

"Oh, Takk, Jokul!" She said sarcastically, trying to smack him in the head. Jack ducked to avoid it, laughing, and sat down on the window sill next to her. He glanced outside. "Hey, sun is going down...you should go to sleep."

"Hm, nah. I'm fine. M'keeping watch."

"Keeping watch for what?"

"Fearlings."

Jack stiffened visibly. Before he could even prepare himself, the flashback began it's onslaught.

_"Hello again, Jackson. Did you miss me?" it hooked it's claws into the front of his hoody, and ripped it apart, easily, along with the white t-shirt underneath, leaving his chest vulnerable. "Pitch is busy. He said I could have fun with you until he came back."_

_"I don't know what your definition of fun is, you sick creep, but it certainly doesn't match mine." Jack snarled, his voice hoarse and uneven. Tinny sounding, even._

_He flinched when he felt the sharp point of a claw dig into the skin over his collarbone. It didn't pierce the skin. Yet._

_"Don't touch me."_

_It dug into his skin, and blood trickled over his chest. "I said don't touch me, dammit!"_

_The Fearling didn't speak, just laughed, and the claw dug in further into it hit the bone. Then, it slowly dragged along the collar bone, slicing the skin open to expose the whiteness. Jack screamed as loud as he could. Huh. Turns out, he did still have a voice. "STOP IT!" he shrieked, "I DON'T KNOW WHERE THE WARREN IS! TELL PITCH I DON'T KNOW!"_

_The claws dug under the bone, and began to pull up with incredible strength. More shrieks tore themselves from Jack's throat. There was a disgusting squelching noise was the bone splintered and was pulled out of his body. Finally, the claws let go. Jack's collar bone, white and stained with blood, splintered, stuck up out of his chest. Jack gagged, and closed his eyes. He couldn't look at it._

_He didn't notice when the Fearling left._

Jack lurched forward, feeling like he was going to be sick, and gagged. Lifa rubbed his back, frowning. She didn't really know what to say. What the hell could she say? _Sorry I didn't get there in time to keep a Fearling from ripping your bones literally out of your body. _

"I'm fine," he croaked after a long time. "Really."

"Is it okay if I ask what you were...um..._interrogated _for?"

Jack glanced at her. Earnest gold eyes, fingers tapping and curling into loose fists against her chest in an almost defensive way, bow lips pressed in a thin line of worry. Jeez, she was giving him this Big Eyes Look. How could he say no to that?

He blurted it out as fast as he could, to get it over with, "Pitch wanted to know how to kill Bunny."

Lifa didn't say anything, but scooted a little closer to him, resting her elbows on her knees and her chin in her hands. A _continue-the-story _body language. Jack laughed humorlessly.

"I didn't know anything, though. I mean...I didn't even know Bunny could use magic until Pitch said so. A-and he wanted to know why because...because he thought...if he got rid of Bunny and me, you'd go to his side again."

Lifa looked as if Jack had just backhanded her across the face, and he immediately regretted not trying to word what he said better.

"You got hurt because of me." she whispered brokenly. No, that is NOT what Jack meant at all.

"Just hold on, you're not the one who hurt me first hand. Look at me!" he spread his arms wide, "I'm fine! Good as new. Really, it's not your fault, you don't have to-"

"Jeg er så lei meg!*" Lifa blurted out. Before Jack could react, she'd locked her thin arms around his waist, and had her face buried in the front of his hoody. Not that she could avoid that. The height difference. Jack hesitated, then wrapped his arms around her. He had no idea what she'd just said. He sighed, wrapped one arm behind her shoulders and resting his other hand on the top of her head as she shivered. Lifa must have been cold, hugging him. The sun was dipping below the horizon outside their window._  
_

"Pitch won't get near you. Or Bunny. We'll all be just fine." he reached down, and took her hand, hooking his little finger around her's. "I promise. 'Kay?"

Lifa lifted her head, smiling and looked at their linked fingers. "Okay." she mumbled, resting against him again as sleep took her. Sundown.

Jack just hoped he could keep that promise. He couldn't lose Bunny. Not North or Tooth or Sandy either. And God forbid, the girl in front of him, too.

* * *

Bunny was fast asleep curled up on a pile of blankets and pillows in the corner of the bedroom North had set up for him. Originally, it'd had a bed, but Bunny, being a rabbit, after all, had improvised his own means of sleep. His nose, ears and paws twitched as he dreamed.

Very soon, those dreams turned to nightmares.

**A/N I just did some typo editing and saw that I wrote "face" instead of "waist" and i flipped my shit. That is a completely different image than intended...anywho, translating Jeg er sa lei meg- It means "I am so sorry". Lifa switches to her home language, Norwegian, when she gets over excited or upset, just North does with Russian.**

**Also, the winning name for Bunny's wife was Dahlia. **


	23. Chapter 23

_E. Aster Bunnymund clasped his arm guard closed, finished dressing for battle. All the other warriors were grouping outside. It was dawn. Dahlia had barely stirred when he'd gotten up early to leave, and for that, he was grateful. Aster couldn't stand it to see the sadness in her eyes._

_But as always, Esmond got up ultra early to climb into bed with his Mummy and Da, because he hated being alone. Especially these days, when war raged in the distance, not far from their own home. Little eight year old Essie was not pleased to find that Mummy was sleeping alone, and Da wasn't there._

_Aster heard the soft patter of his suns feet as he tried to sneak up on him. Plastering on a fake smile, he spun around, and whispered loudly, as not to wake Dahlia, "Got ya!" And caught the snowy white little Pooka in a hug. Essie squealed loudly, and tried to get away, smiling._

_"How come I can't ever sneak up on you?" he asked in his small voice._

_"Because, I have bigger ears than you do." Aster smiled, kneeling down in front of him._

_"Mummy says you're going away." _

_Aster winced, then nodded slowly. "Yeah, I am."_

_Esmond hugged his father again, "You can't! What if you don't come home?!"_

_"Hey-hey, Of course I'll be comin' home." Aster stood up, picking up Esmond. It wasn't hard. He was still small. Esmond kept his arms locked around his father's neck, refusing to get home. "This is the one and only time I'm leaving, okay?"_

_"Promise!"_

_"I promise," Aster swore, nuzzling his nose against the top of Esmond's head, between his silvery ears that matched his father's own pelt color so closely. "Now go back to sleep. I'll be back before ya know it."_

* * *

_Don't be too late, please don't let it be too late!_

_Bunnymund was running and hopping as fast as he possibly could over the vast moor. He didn't know if there were any others trying to make it back to their home village, or if any had survived the ambush at all. Didn't anyone check to see if the message was fake or not?!_

_No, they hadn't. They'd walked right into a slaughterhouse, and left their home unprotected._

_He ran even faster, even though his lungs felt as if they were about to burst. He had to get home in time._

* * *

_When he finally got back to the village, it was in ruins. Several Fearlings were laying dead, or dying, or were crawling over the buildings, looking for more to kill. They ignored Aster, laughing as he raced by. They knew something he didn't._

_He was just yards away from his own burrow when he heard the shrill screams of his son._

_"ESSIE!"_

_Aster threw open the door, and skidded to a stop. Esmond was backed up against the wall, clinging to Dahlia. Dahlia was simply leaning over him, her arms wrapped loosely around him, unmoving. There was a coppery smell in the air...Oh, no._

_"Mummy! MUMMY, WAKE UP!" Essie cried, clinging to his mother, terrified. Horrid cackling echoed around the room, and Essie froze._

_"Essie," Aster called softly, "Come here," he didn't dare move a muscle. The Fearling was still somewhere, hiding. It could be clinging to the damn ceiling, disguising itself simply as shadows._

_Esmond lifted his head, "Da? You're back?"_

_"Yeah, just...just come here." Aster stepped further into the house, bending down with his arms wide, "Please, Essie."_

_That was when shadows covered every inch of the house, and slammed the door shut behind Aster. Aster immediately lunged forward for his son, but for once, a Pooka's speed meant nothing. _

_Esmond shrieked in terror as the Fearling's tail wrapped around his scrawny body, lifting him in the air. Vine-like shadows seized Aster's limbs, holding him in place._

_"NO! PUT HIM DOWN!" Aster roared, thrashing and trying to gain freedom. No...please...not my kit..._

_"Da-" Essie began, when the tail's grip tightened unexpectedly, and Essie choked as the air was squeezed from his lungs. Aster screamed again, "NO, HE'S JUST A KIT!"_

_"No crushing him? As you wish." the tail released him, letting Esmond drop to the floor, gasping and crying for his mother and father. "A different way, then." the Fearling crawled down from the wall, and eyed the eight year old Pooka laying on the floor, struggling to breathe. __Aster opened his mouth to scream again, but shadows slithered over his face, gagging him. He couldn't move, couldn't speak, he couldn't do anything. __And he watched as the Fearling impaled his son's body with eighteen inch claws, and let his limp body drop to the floor next to his long-dead mother._

_But then the image changed. It wasn't Dahlia laying dead on the floor. It wasn't little Essie choking on his own blood. _

_It was Jack._

* * *

North finally burst into the room, sword drawn, and shouting in Russian, demanding why Bunny was screaming and if they were under attack. But when the man saw Bunny thrashing in his sleep, he sheathed his swords, and dashed forward.

"Aster, it is just nightmare. Wake up!" North took Bunny by his shoulders, trying to calm his struggles. Bunny lashed out and tried to attack North. All the man could do was locked his arms around his colleague to prevent anyone from getting hurt.

* * *

Jack had just pulled the blanket over Lifa, after tucking her in, when he heard the commotion somewhere else in the building. He picked up his staff, and ran out of the room.

Tearing down the hallway, he nearly fell down the stairs as he headed for Bunny's room. _Jesus Christ, is he the one screaming like that?!__  
_

Jack burst through the door. North looked up, still trying to restrain Bunny. "Jack?!"

"What's wrong with him?" Jack demanded, rushing forward.

"It is a nightmare. Help me wake him up!"

Wake him up? Alright. Jack pointed the crook of his staff directly at Bunny, and sent a very big, very _cold _flurry of snowflakes into his face.

_THAT _certainly woke him up.

Bunny jolted back into consciousness, sputtering and gasping. North hesitantly released him, letting Bunny drop back to the floor. Jack edge forward timidly. "Bunny...? Are...Are you okay?"

Bunny didn't answer, but he immediately crushed Jack in a hug. Jack let out a loud "oomf" in response to be smothered. North patted Bunny's back as he shivered. "It is alright, my friend. It was not real. Please, answer Jack's question."

"I'm fine." Bunny mumbled, rocking back and forth a little bit as he cradled Jack. "Just...Let me hold him for a while...make sure he's okay."

North and Jack glanced at each other (although Jack was still being smothered, so he had a harder time of it) and they both shared the same thoughts. Jack was fine. Bunny was the one who needed to be worried about. But Jack just returned the hug, and buried his face contentedly in Bunny's soft fur. He hated how must the Pooka was shaking. North simply backed out of the room, since he obviously couldn't do anything, and headed back to the workshop. Some toy making should ease his stress.

* * *

"Bunny."

"Eh?"

"You've been hugging me for almost a half hour. Are you sure you're okay?"

Bunny honestly didn't know. But Jack was worried, and the kid was stressed enough. Bunny let go of him, and frowned, placing a paw on Jack's forehead. "Your fever's gone."

"Oh...yeah. Lifa helped me fix my staff...I'm completely better now." Jack pushed Bunny's paw away.

Bunny shrugged, "If you say so. But you're not going to be running around pell-mell. Bed rest, at least three days."

"Aw, _come on!"_

Bunny smiled at Jack's complaint. He really was okay. But still, that nightmare's image stuck in his mind. "You spoke to Sunny?"

"Yeah. She's sleeping now."

"What'd you two talk about?" Bunny asked. He was glad for casual conversation.

"Oh...well...After she got me to fix my staff, I asked her how she knew that would finish healing me. She told me she had her own conduit thing. Some necklace her father gave her. Then I told her my dad gave me a pair of shoes once, and I lost them, so I was barefoot since." Jack smiled, "Family joke. Don't give Jackie shoes, he'll just lose them."

Bunny smiled.

"And I may or may not have...flirted with her...a little."

_**"What?"**_

"Hey, I've never legitimately spoken to a girl, for all I know, it could've just been nice conversation!" Jack raised his hands in defense.

"Ya can't date your colleagues, Frost."

"She's not a Guardian, and therefore, not my colleague." Jack pointed out.

"Why are you looking for a reason?"

Jack blanched, and then his face flushed a purplish-red color. He immediately yanked his hood up, and muttered, "Shut it, Cottontail."

Bunny smirked. "Admit it, ya fancy 'er."

Jack gritted his teeth, "I just said I thought her accent was cute...and her smile, too...She was looking depressed, I was just trying to cheer her up!"

"Yeah-huh, sure. Well, I'm glad to see you're doin' fine mentally."

Jack looked up. "I'm surprised. I thought I'd be a wreck but I'm actually...happy. Lifa and you and everyone...I think I'll actually be okay."

"Good. That means I don't have to worry about you. I'll leave tomorrow."

Jack paled again, "Leave...where?"

"Fearlings, Jack. They're grouping, and I need to start doing some population control."

"You make it sound like a war is starting."

"No, I'm trying to prevent one from starting. Big difference."

Jack stared at Bunny for a moment. Okay. A war. Big fight. He could handle that, it wasn't any different from defeating Pitch. But Pitch had just been _one _opponent, with a lot of Nightmares to help him. Fearlings were much, much stronger than Nightmares. There would be more of them, and they'd be harder to beat.

"You're not going," Jack said firmly, standing up. "You're going to get some real sleep, and we're going to figure this out together. No doing anything on your own."

"Oi, who made you the boss of me?"

"I did. Go. Sleep. Now." Jack picked up a blanket and threw it over Bunny. "You're not going anywhere!"

Bunny didn't have a choice but to curl up again and go back to sleep with Jack sitting next to him, like a parole officer.

But a war was most definitely brewing.

* * *

Lifa was dreaming, curled in her bed with the blanket pulled so far up, it covered her nose.

_It was a regular night at the Haddock family house. Lifa was thirteen years old, and was sitting on the floor between the two chairs that were seated by the large, blazing hearth. Toothless snoozed next to it, and her father was still down at the forge. Lifa hugged her knees to her chin. Her mother sat in the chair she was leaning back against._

_"Everyone is starting Dragon Training tomorrow..." Lifa said quietly as her mother braided her thick hair, and then undid the braid. It was Lifa's favorite thing, having her hair played with. It just felt good. _

_Astrid Haddock smiled, "Mhm. Excited?"_

_"Daddy doesn't want me to go."_

_Her mother stiffened for a moment, feeling another one of those conversations coming on. "And why do you think that?"_

_"Because...I'm small. And he thinks I'll get hurt."_

_"Maybe you could start later in the year," Astrid suggested, stroking her daughter's hair, "You did just get over a fever. He's right to be worried."_

_"That fever went away two weeks ago, Mum. And you're not worried, it's just him!" she turned around, "Why is he always like that? I'm not helpless."_

_That wasn't the entire truth. Lifa was born small, sure, but she was also sickly. She couldn't go outside in the bitter cold or she couldn't breathe, and the same problem happened with running. She couldn't go thirty yards without her breath leaving her. And fevers, constant fevers, dropping in out of nowhere. Always propped up in bed, and drinking broth and tea and bitter medicine. Even her legs were weak. She had been so small when she'd been born, it took her much, much longer to be able to walk than a normal child would. Toothless mostly carried her around in the early years. Now, she was stronger._

_But Hiccup wouldn't take even the slightest risk. If she went outside, he made her bundle up. If he couldn't go with her, Toothless had too. "Wasn't he like me when he was a kid?"_

_"Well, yes...but he was just scrawny. He didn't...He wasn't...uhhm..."_

_"Get sick all the time." Lifa finished, sulking. "I'm really feeling stronger, Mum. I'm getting better! I got taller, too, and I think heavier. I'm growing. I can go!"_

_"Lifa, dragons aren't wild and vicious, but...they are big, and they don't understand a human's strength. They think we're just as muscled as they are, and as much as it may be the case- Your grand dad is an example- it isn't with trainees. You could get hurt...Your father is just looking out for you."_

_"I survived long enough to get here, Mum.** I can look out for myself**."_

* * *

**A/N ta daaa some of Lifa's past. Never would've guessed she was literally a weak runt in her human life, eh? Well, she did in fact have asthma. And I'm not sure how I wrote Bunny's nightmare. Eh...any who, I got sent home sick today from school (thanks to a certain guy friend WHO CAN'T KEEP HIS DAMN DISEASE TO HIMSELF GOD FUCKING DAMMIT, CHRISTIAN. I MISSED ORCHESTRA CUZ OF YOU.) and I also have Friday off tomorrow. Time to write, write, write. I have nothing to do this week.**

**I also found a son that for some reason just makes me think of Jack and Lifa a lot. It might inspire some writing...here's my favorite cover of it. LISTEN LISTEN LISTEN, IT IS BEAUTIFUL. It's called Let Her Go by Passenger. (cover by Nicole Cross, or the original version)**

**Nicole Cross actually sounds very, very close to how I imagined Lifa's singing voice.**

**Well, I'mma go take a break for an hour to practice violin, hopefully that'll bring out some more creativity. If you guys give me a coupla more reviews, I shall tell you my violin's name (MY BABY DESERVES ATTENTION) and throw in a musical-Jack in the next or after-next chapter. We all love a secretly-talented Jack. (no, it isn't piano. As we all recall, he's a shit piano player) And have a fun fact about me: I'm descended from vikings. HEHEHE**

**Oh, and the new language I'm using now: GERMAN!**

**Auf Weidersehn, mein Freunde!**


	24. Chapter 24

"No no no NO! It's too early!"

Jack clung to the sheets of the bed, while Lifa had her hands wrapped around his ankles and was trying to detach him from it. Unfortunately, they both had an equally strong grip, and nearly as much stubbornness. After all, an immortal teenager with social issues could be equivalent to a bull-headed stubborn vikingess.

"It is _not _too early, Jokul. Get. Up! We're going to train, and I don't give a single damn if you don't want too!" she growled.

It was twenty minutes ago that the sun had come up, Lifa had woken up and gone through her morning routine, and thrown open the curtains. And then she'd yanked the blanket off of Jack and the battle to sleep in commenced.

"I don't _need _to train, I can fight just fine! Back off, she-beast!"

Alright, now she was pissed. Abruptly releasing Jack, she darted to the side of the bed, and with one fluent, strong motion, and flipped the mattress and dumped him onto the floor. "Get your lazy arse outta bed _now, Dammit!"_

_"Shit!"_

Jack hit the floor with a thud, and sat up, rubbing his head. "You're mean!" he shot her a glare.

"Don't you look at me like that. You can't sleep all day!" Lifa planted her hands on her hips, glowering down at him. "We may very well go to war today, and we all need to be ready. Tooth is at the palace with readying her fairies, North is getting the sleigh battle-ready and the Yeti's, Sandy is out doing crowd control with the Fearlings, and Bunny is in the workshop making weapons with the Yeti's that aren't with North! Do you know what that means?"

"No. Please enlighten me."

"That means I'm in charge of you!" Lifa grabbed him by his shoulders and yanked him to his feet. "Get your staff, and meet me outside. If you're not out there in ten minutes, I'm coming to get you."

Jack watched her spin around on her heel and march out, boots rapping sharply against the floor. Dammit, she acted like she was some sort of queen, ordering him around...A queen of war, that is. With her voice and regal air, it was hard for him not to sit up straight and call her ma'am. But Jack figured she had a point. Standing up, he picked up his staff, and opened the window.

It felt good to be outside in the frigid air again, wearing his original attire, and being carried on the wind. After being cooped up for numerous reasons, (by Pitch and then by his dear friends. But the second culprits did it for his own good) he relished the freedom. Looking down, he saw Lifa stepping out of the building, and staggering slightly as the icy wind buffeted her back, greeting her and making her deep red cloak billow around her. Dressed in a pale, golden beige longsleeve tunic, brown leggings, her furry boots, and fur vest, carrying her burlap satchel, Jack thought she looked...old fashioned. Like him, wearing his colonial pants. After all, the boots and vest and tunic were traditionally Viking wear. But still, it was much colder at the Pole than in Norway, and she should at least be wearing gloves...And the wind should leave her alone. It'd only make her colder. It was like it was trying to carry her into the air, not that Lifa would have any of it.

Wow. The wind liked her.

_Hey, I thought I was you favorite? _The wind ruffled his hair apologetically, and Jack cracked a smile. It faded a little when he heard Lifa shouting, "OI! Quit hanging around up there, and get down here!"

"Yeah, yeah, hold your "oi"s and don't get your undies in a wad," he muttered, touching down to the ground. He noticed targets set up all around them. "Alright, so how do we go about this training thing?"

"Well, our pick your weapon and then your practice destroying stuff with it. Find a target, apply ax to it."

"...Ax?"

"Yes. This is an ax." she picked up a very heavy looking ax, hefting it over her shoulder. "What an intelligent observation you have made."

"I'm surprised." Jack smirked.

"Of what?"

"Of the fact you can lift it."

"What the hell does that mean?" she tightened her grip on the weapon's handle.

"W-well...You're just...small, I just thought..." Jack caught the dangerous tone in her voice,and back pedaled, saying something intelligent like,"Er uh um".

Jack yelped as the ax sailed past his head and thudded into the actual head of a dummy behind him. He slowly turned and looked behind him, gulped nervously and looked back at her. She smirked at him. "Don't underestimate me."

She tossed him a fencing sword. A rapier. "It's the worst possible thing you can do. Now, I'm going to teach you a favorite skill of mine."

Jack fumbled when he caught the sword, and put down his staff unwillingly. "Swordplay?"

"Yep. Get into position. Copy mine. _En Garde!_"

Jack copied her position. He noticed Lifa was left handed. He himself preferred his right hand. Come to think of it, Lifa was ambidextrous. She switched hands often.

"This is fourth position. Used to protect the left side of the body. Lunge," she ordered.

Jack looked surprised, "What?"

"I said lunge."

"You want me to try and stab you?!"

"Trust me," she snorted, "You won't get that far."

Jack hesitated, and then clumsily lunged the blade forward. He didn't know how to move his feet. Lifa parried his blade easily and pointed the tip of her own rapier under his chin. "You need to slide your feet, not taking tip-toe steps. Watch me."

As the next two hours passed, Jack drastically improved in sword play. In fact, he was a natural. Lifa, though not going to admit it, was impressed. Jack could parry, lunge, slash, block, side step, and stab just as well as she could.

"Great! How about we try archery now?" Lifa suggested, sheathing her rapier.

"Aw...I was hoping you'd teach me to throw an ax." Jack sheathed his blade, too, and retrieved his staff.

"Maybe another time. But you fly, so an ax won't do you much good. No, you need a long distance weapon. I've been doing archery since I was thirteen."

"How old are you now?" he asked.

"Hmm...well...when I was human, I was going to turn sixteen two months before...well...before I became immortal."

"So you're fifteen, then."

"More like two thousand and nine hundred and nineteen! How old are you?" she planted her hands on her hips, raising her eyes brows at him.

"Uhh...well, I was seventeen when I died. And that was...a little over three hundred years ago."

"You died, too?!"

Lifa's expression of shock spread over her face completely. "H-how?!"

Jack shifted uncomfortably. "That's...a personal story, Sunny."

"I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours." she tried making a deal. Turning around, she looked through the bows she'd brought. A cross bow, recurve bow, long bow, and a compound bow. She strung the long bow- It was as tall as she was!- and tested it's strength, drawing the string back surely.

"Are you sure you want to talk about it?" Jack looked at her, concerned. She was definitely avoiding eye contact. "I mean...it's your life."

"I know that." She spun around, drawing back an arrow and hitting the bullseye of the target easily. Jack couldn't help but to admire how she stood up straight, regally and how her hand as poised by her face after releasing the arrow. Shaking his head, he picked up recurve bow. "Well...I went ice skating with my little sister one day," he began, fumbling to get an arrow notched on the string. "And...the ice wasn't as thick as we thought it was."

Lifa draw back another arrow, and hit the bullseye. Again. Jack could tell she was definitely listening, though.

"She was going to fall through the ice. I brought my staff with me...It's actually a shepherd's crook. I herded sheep as a job when I was alive. My father was a woodcarver, but we were also shepherds. Wood carving isn't an everyday profession, so...Anyway, I got her to play hopscotch. Tried to get her off the thin ice. But I went first, and got onto thicker ice. When she started to move, the ice cracked..."

_Thunk. _Another arrow. Jack still hadn't pulled back the draw string.

"And I took my staff and hooked the crook around her waist, and tossed her onto the thicker ice. But...I ended up throwing myself onto the thinner ice. And it broke."

Lifa missed the target that time. Jack finished quickly, wanting to get the story over with. "I drowned in that lake, and after that...MiM made me Jack Frost."

"Y-you...you died saving...your sister?" Lifa turned around, looking at him. _Oh God, she's going to cry. _Jack panicked.

"Yes. But it's okay! Really. I loved her. She was my whole world. I wouldn't have had it any other way."

Lifa relaxed a little. "You're a hero. Figures. Hey, you need help?" she nodded at his bow and arrow.

"Err...yeah." he chuckled humorlessly, embarrassed. Lifa walked behind him, and reached over, pulling his arms off. Putting her hand over his, she helped him pull back the draw string. "Draw all the way back to your cheek. Aim a little more down...let go."

Jack did let go. The arrow hit the target about three inches away from the bullseye. "Ha! I hit it!" he cheered.

Lifa smiled, backing up. "Alright...now I tell you my story."

As Jack practiced his archery, she searched for words. Gods, it was such a long story that lead up to her demise.

"Well...my father was the chief of my home. Berk. It's...twelve days north of Hopeless and a few degrees south of Freezing to Death," she began. Jack smiled a little. Great intro. Little did he know, it was the beginning of her story...the story she wrote so people could read about how her father changed the entire Viking world.

"It's located solidly on the Meridian of Misery. It was my village. In a word? Sturdy. It had been there for seven generations, and I'd been part of the new one after my father's. It snows nine months of the year, and hails the other three. Any food that grows there is tough and tasteless. The people were even more so. The only upsides were our best friends,"

Jack turned to see a brilliant smile on her face, one he'd never seen before. "Most people had ponies or parrots...we had _dragons."_

"DRAGONS?! What, like fire breathing and all that?!" Jack was immediately intrigued. Lifa laughed.

"Yes, as well as acid, and spark and gas. I have a book on them. I might just show it to you. Right after I teach you how to read Norse."

"Continue your story, Vikingess."

"Alright, alright. Well, anyway, Scotland wasn't fond of us. See, Dragons had migrated there, and they were rogue. They attacked, and took food. Of course, that was just them surviving. Soon, war fell on my home, and some neighboring islands. Berk was in the middle of it..." Lifa suddenly looked grief stricken, "It took my Grandfather's life. Half way through it, the leader of one of the clans came to our island. My father demanded means of a truce. And what the clan's king demanded was a truce through marriage. He had a son, a little older than I was at the time."

Jack stared in shock. "You don't mean..."

She nodded, "I do. I volunteered on the spot before my father could protest. It was an arranged marriage. I was taken away from Berk, and became a queen of the clan. It was a smart political move on my part...but my safety wasn't assured until an heir was. Assured, I mean."

"An heir?"

"A kid to become king or queen after my...husband and I were gone." She leaned from foot to foot uneasily. "But different Vikings- the Outcasts- attacked Berk. I left to go fight and protect them. I impersonated my little brother who was taken hostage before the battle began. Cut my hair and stole his clothes, lead everyone through the fight...my father wasn't fooled, but it was too late then. I'd already been wounded in the battle. After it ended, we won...and I died of my injuries. Two children died that day."

"What do you mean _two?"_

"My child died. Jokul, if I'd lived another seven months after that, I would've been the mother of a prince or princess."

Jack paled as she said that. How old had she'd been when this happened?! Nowadays, not even a legal adult, not even eighteen! Back then, in Viking culture, that was a little young to be married...and pregnant. But in Scotland, it was perfectly normal.

"I am so, so sorry..." he began, but Lifa shook her head.

"I'm fine. Really. I protected my people, and my new home. The Outcasts were planning to conquer Berk and then the clans. I helped stop that. It was...it was worth it."

Worth her unborn child's life? Jack's thoughts spun like a pinwheel. Arranged marriage, politics, war...Taken away from her home, and only returning to die on it's shores. How did she do it?! She became a queen, _a real queen, _took on so much, saved so many people, and she was a child then. Didn't she have anyone to help her?

"Jokul, stop looking at me like that."

"I'm not looking at you in anyway." He mumbled.

"You're looking at me like you're a sad puppy!"

"How can you possibly be okay?! After all that?! No one would be!" He shouted suddenly. Lifa took a small step back, but then her eyes narrowed. In a low, quiet voice, she said,

"I had no choice but to be okay. Everyone was depending on me. I stepped up to the plate, I did my job, and I made my sacrifice, and in the end, we won our war. I coped with what we lost. I had two thousand years to do it. I am not a little runt in a vest who was shipped off away from her home because all she could do was be married off. I fought. I was thrown into the blood, the flames, and then destruction. I was put in the middle of the politics, the noblemen and women, and the kings and queens! And I _won! Damn you, of course I'm okay! **I CAN TAKE CARE OF MYSELF!**"_

Jack stared for a moment, but Lifa wasn't done. Her voice had become a shout of defiance. He'd triggered something. He'd messed up. _No, wait, stop, I didn't mean..._

"That is who I am! I fight, I survive, live another day, learn more, fight more, and I become victorious. I am the queen of okay! Stop worrying about me, Jokul. This isn't some emotional-therapy session we're going through here. This is supposed to be a swapping of stories while I teach you how to kill Fearlings! _Get your head in the game, and stop sulking over every little tragedy you hear about!"_

And with that, Lifa shoved her bow into his arms, "Start using a long bow! That bow doesn't shoot far enough for a flier!" And backed up. She shouted one more time, "Du er den tetteste personen jeg noensinne har møtt!"

Jack didn't even notice when she'd taken the sunlight in the air, and formed her wings. Stretching out the feathered appendages, she launched herself into the air. Seconds later, Jack couldn't see her anymore. The sun was too blinding.

He'd definitely misjudged her.

**A/N **

**After my attempt of Jack and Lifa fluff, I threw in some pre-war angst. Lifa definitely has some past issues. And translating what she'd said, Du er den tetteste personen jeg noensinne har møtt! means "You are the densest person I have ever met!" **

**Lifa had something like a small panic attack. Now she'd flown off on her own, leaving Jack to wallow in angst after pissing off a girl he kind of likes. **

**And some of Lifa's past, huzzah! Yeah, lots of messed up stuff in her past. And a tumblr pal pointed out, "If Manny brought her back to life, can't her kid be brought back to life, too?" Like having the kid being already born, or Lifa being with child again with the kid, or just having her kid brought into existence. Also, maybe Lifa has one secret ability...Being able to summon an old friend into battle. (TOOTHLESSSS)**

**Fun fact about Lifa: She was already engaged to be married to a boy in her village who closely resembles Jack, if Jack had black hair and gray eyes. They were very much in love, and child hood friends. Actually, they'd hated each other at first. But Lifa is indeed a queen. Bad ass royalty. Born to inherit the position of ruling a Viking tribe, and then married into ruling a whole clan and miles and miles of Scottish land. And then she'd gotten pregnant at a young age just to prove a point to every single person in the royal court that she is capable of whatever they throw at her, and she'd also begun training and breeding dragon's in Scotland, regardless of what anyone told her. She'd arrived and fucking conquered everything in sight. Right up until she died, Lifa did whatever she believed in. **

**Look up "bull headed stubborn viking" someplace and you'll find Lifa as the most accurate definition. Along with "b.a.m.f" right up there with Nick Fury and Tamora (Wreck it Ralph. Tamora also inspired Lifa's character traits quite a lot)**

**Also, anyone approve of my idea of Jack becoming an archer? Since he flies all the time, imagine him being able to make ice arrows and shoot from a distance. JACK IS HAWKEYE. **

**All I saw just now was Jack going, "CAW CAW, MOTHER FUCKERS." **

**Musical Jack is coming soon. My violin's name? Well, he goes through a lot of personality changes. Right now it's Lieutenant.**

**Auf Weidersegn, mein Freunde!**


	25. Chapter 25

Jack shuffled back into the workshop, his head lowered. North turned around, smiling, but he saw Jack's demeanor and immediately came over.

"Jack, what is wrong?"

Jack's shoulders slumped, and he shrugged mutely.

North frowned, noticing another problem. "Where is Lifa?"

"Sh-she...left. She flew off. I think I may have...upset her."

"I see...well, she is a smart young lady. She will come back soon. Do not worry."

"There are Fearlings out there!" Jack shouted, head snapping up and cerulean eyes flashing, "She could get hurt!"

"Jack, you know as well as I she can take out as many Fearlings on her own as Sandy can. She will be safe."

"What about when the sun goes down? Or if she falls? She flew off, and she's new at flying and she's way too arrogant, and over confident, and she'll get in over her head-"

"Jack!" North placed a hand on his thin shoulder. "You worry too much. Let us talk about something else. Lifa helped you train, yes? Anything you liked?"

Jack stumbled slightly under North's hand. "Er well...I'm good at sword play. But a bow and some arrows would be better."

"We will get you both!" North exclaimed cheerily. Jack cocked his head, "Why both?"

"Well, a sword you can keep with you in a sheath easily. A bow and arrows can be kept in a quiver on your back. You can also keep your staff in your quiver if need comes to be, you need to use either weapon. It is perfect."

Jack admitted North was right. If his staff didn't suit the situation, a sword could come into it's place. Or if it needed to help from a distance, and shooting ice didn't suffice, arrows would. He watched as the Yeti's began constructing all the weapons, made him stand on a scale for his weight, measure his arm length and height so they could balance the sword correctly, and the whole sha-bang.

As much as Jack enjoyed being fitted for war, He still worried about Lifa.

* * *

Lifa had flown as far as she could, and as fast as she could, until she got back to Norway and to cloudy weather. Yep, clouds. As in big fluffy water-droplets that block the sun. _Oh no. _She plummeted about ten feet before she caught herself. Wings were going out. _This is very bad. _"Crap!" she wavered midair as she flew directly into cloud-cover. Everything was gray, wet, and _cold! _

Lifa realized she was falling when her stomach flip-flopped, and her hair was blown up away from her face. And the island below her did not look remotely friendly. Lifa twisted around and forced her body to relax. If you fall, relax. Go limp. Land on your back. Your ribcage will bend to protect your organs...Lifa continued to plummet downward to the unforgiving earth.

Her wings, too weak to keep her in flight anymore, flickered once more just before her body slammed into the ground. Finally, the light particles expanded as top speed, her wings gone.

The result? A massive crater and everything being vaporized within a two mile radius.

Lifa groaned and tried to sit up, but gasped in pain. Oh, _gods _it hurt! Her legs were just pins and needles, and she knew that second her shoulder was dislocated. Possibly some spinal cord damage...Lifa lay back down where she was, trying to breathe. She just had to lose her temper and take off. Wonderful!

Her vision was washed red and everything was spinning, growing dim. She couldn't stay awake anymore. _But you could have head trauma. Stay awake!_

Obviously, that order she gave herself was disobeyed seconds later.

* * *

"Did anyone hear that?" a voice asked. Multiple figures moved about in the darkness of the lair that used to belong to Pitch. Unfortunately, he'd been recently...detained.

"Hear what?" a deeper, scratchier voice snapped.

"Some sort of explosion. Is it hotter down here now?"

"If you're so worried, Deimos, go up and look!"

"Why don't you do it, Phobos?"

"Because I'm busy with our...pets. Now GO."

The one called Deimos grumbled in indignation, and trudged up the stairs outside. His twin brother could really be an ass. Why did he have to go up and look? He just wanted to stay in the dark, with the Fearling's. But no, Phobos got to be the one who created them.

Thank their father, Ares, that it was cloudy and dreary outside. How he loathed the sunlight. So bright, cheery, warm, and worst of all, _hopeful and beautiful. _Light was not the definition of beauty, in his opinion. Darkness. Darkness was beautiful. Dark hair, dark eyes, a dark soul. If he ever met someone like that, he'd make her his queen of darkness on the spot. Unfortunately, that happened some centuries ago and Nyx, the Goddess of Night, wanted none of it.

And the destruction outside! It smelled like the definition of _burnt. _But that didn't catch Deimos's attention. No, it was the crater. Deimos rushed to the edge of it. "What the hell?"

He did not expect to find a pretty girl laying in the middle of it.

Deimos jumped over the edge and slide down the hill into the crater. The crater was at least fifteen to twenty feet deep. "Hey! What the hell are you doing here?"

Of course, there was no response. Deimos scowled, and shook her shoulder, "I just asked you a-"

But the girl responded by crying out in pain and slamming her other hand into his throat. Deimos choked, and staggered back, struggling to breathe. _Great Zeus, she's strong!_

Lifa jolted awake, and rolled over, trying not to be sick. Definitely a concussion. But still, she reached into her boot and pulled out her fourteen inch dagger and scrambled back, knees bent so she was close to the ground, and could roll away from an attack at a moment's notice.

She blinked for a moment at the young man in front of her. He looked a little older than Jack, with raven black hair that was cut short in the back, but the bangs were shaggy and hung in his silver eyes. His skin was incredibly fair without blemish, and he wore simple dark jeans, sneakers, a black trench coat over a black t-shirt that had silver writing over it. Lifa squinted, trying to read it. Greek. "Delta..that's a delta...and..."

"What?" Deimos coughed, getting to his feet to glower down at her. "Oh, you're reading my shirt. Delta, epsilon, iota, mu-"

"Omega, sigma." she finished, blinking rapidly. It was getting very hard to keep her vision focused. "Deimos. God of...of sheer terror...oww..." she shook her head, "Odin help me..."

"Yes, I am. But you don't seem to be terrified. However, you are injured. May I lend you some help?"

Lifa debated her options. Let him attack her, or help her. Throw her current condition into the equation...

_Makes you stronger;Cripples you forever. _Flip a coin. Heads, she fights. Tails, he helps.

Well, her head wasn't doing so well at the moment, so tails it is. "Ja, takk."

Deimos smirked. This young woman was not human, definitely not, if she was alive at all. And she could see him. A possible ally. He knelt down, extending his hand to her. "Ah, you're Norwegian. Lovely accent. Can you stand, miss...?"

She took his hand, dropping her dagger to do so. After all, her other arm's shoulder as dislocated. "I-I don't think so...Lifa. My name is Lifa Eir Hiccup..." she took another deep breath, having trouble to keep a straight thought. "Haddock...the fourth...of Berk and Clan Macintosh."

"And a lovely name to match a lovely accent. A long name, too. Well, you cannot stand...If you would permit me?" Deimos looked her up and down for a moment. Slight, slender figure, generally small. Alright. Yes, he could play a gentleman's part. He scooped Lifa up in one solid motion, bridal style. Lifa breathed in sharply from being moved so quickly. Ouch.

"Was that painful?"

"Ja." She responded. _Why the hell am I letting him do this?_

"My apologies, Lady Haddock." Deimos assumed the title "Lady" applied here. She did seem rather proud of her name, and she must rule over something. "My brother and I are residing not far from here. I can take you to our home, and we can tend to your injuries. Perhaps after you can tell me how you came to be injured in the first place."

"Yeah...uh...that'd be...fine..." her vision began spinning again. That was it. She was done. Closing her eyes, she felt sick all over again. But her consciousness soon slipped away and she went limp.

"What a productive day," Deimos murmured, carrying Lifa back towards the lair.

* * *

"Deimos, what the hell is that?" Phobos demanded. Phobos looked quite a lot like Deimos, save for the fact his hair was gray and his eyes blood red. Also, he was a tad shorter. Of course, the brothers were both equally charming in attractiveness. They might have been likable, if their mere aura's didn't strike panic and terror in every mortal they walked back.

"Lifa Eir Hiccup Haddock the fourth of Berk and Clan Macintosh. She had a bit of a fall. You do know who she is, don't you?"

Deimos cradled the precious cargo in his arms. Lifa was barely breathing. Phobos threw his hands up in exasperation, "Yes! A master assassin, practically a war goddess, and the ruler of the damned SUN! We hate the sun, brother. Companion of the damned Guardians, former adopted daughter of our prisoner! Why would you bring her here?"

"Why, to snuff out the sun." Deimos walked past his brother, and the floor and walls shifted to a bed room. He simply lay Lifa down in the comfortable, black canopy bed. "Miss, I regret to inform you, but this will hurt quite a lot," he murmured, kneeling down close to her.

Striking fast and sure, he forced her shoulder back into alignment, and Lifa clenched her teeth and stiffened at the pain. Deimos was impressed at her controlled silence. As the girl settled back into sleep, he turned to his brother.

"She has a concussion, and some bruised ribs. Fetch a cloth for her forehead, and some nectar and ambrosia. She's immortal like us, I'm sure she can handle some godly food."

"Why do you want to do this?" Phobos inquired, genuinely curious.

"Well, if we help her, she might not think we are so bad. And if she doesn't like us, we simply contain her here." Deimos smiled.

"And how do you propose we...contain her?"

"Dear brother, do you know how to contain light?"

Phobos frowned, thought about it and then shook his head. Deimos strolled out of the room, and Phobos followed. He smiled up at the ceiling where cages hung down. Some reconstructing of those cages would suffice their need.

"Phobos, to imprison light, you put it in a lantern."


	26. Chapter 26

**A/N This chapter is all about Lifa. Jack and Guardians in the next chapter. Also, the main villains have been introduced! Phobos and Deimos, twin brothers. Gods of Fear and Terror (there is a difference) sons of the god of War, Ares. Phobos sounds familiar? Well, Phobia originates from his name. He deals with personal fears, such as my own phobia of snakes and deep ocean, my claustrophobia...My best friend's phobia of arachnids (also, my eighteen year old sister has that phobia, along with insectaphobia. INSECTS) , and Jack's own phobia. Anyone care to guess what it is? It's quite similar to Pitch's. Athazagoraphobia. Fear of being forgotten, ignored, unloved, and/or alone. Deimos deals with sheer terror. He takes a wide range of things, and uses them to strike such fear and terror in a person that it effects others. Also inflicts terror during war. Phobos, however, inflicts personal terror, that a person has to deal with on their own. Both can be equally destructive. And yes, Deimos is very attractive. He takes on the form of a beautiful young man so that people aren't scared at first. He enjoys catching people off guard. His brother follows along with the same concept, except he doesn't hide his blood colored eyes. Phobos received blood sacrifices some centuries ago, hence his bloody eye color. **

**Another fun fact? Deimos looks like Koli, the boy Lifa was betrothed to (who she actually loved.) Koli was named Koli (which means black and coal) for his hair color. Koli also had gray eyes, and Deimos's eyes are a pure, light silver. They were both also very tall.**

**Alright, history lesson is over. Alonsy!**

Lifa felt a cool, soothing feeling pressing against her forehead. Wet, too. Her head didn't ache as much as before, but her entire body was bruised, and battered. Her thoughts swirled foggily, _Pain. Actual injuries...must be...torn muscles. Bad. This is bad. Where...?_

She forced her eyes open. Her eyelids felt heavy, and sluggish.

"Good morning, Lady Haddock. I trust you are feeling better?" A deep, silken voice asked her. Vaguely, she felt gentle fingers tuck her hair out of her face. "I'm sorry, that was a foolish thing to say. You must be in quite a lot of pain. Well, I'm glad to tell you your skull wasn't fractured. But you do need to rest. Can I offer you something to drink? Not alcohol, of course."

Lifa tried to sit up, but the hand moved to her shoulder, easing her back against the soft pillows. She couldn't make her lips move to speak. "I know you must be anxious to move about, but I insist you rest. Drink this, while I explain things to you."

Lifa blinked as a china cup was pressed into her hands. To her own embarrassment, her hands were trembling. She felt weak, and drained. Looking inside the cup, there was a clear, golden liquid inside. The smell was incredibly tempting. She took a test sip, and the taste was even better. Sweet, riddled with spices, and it warmed her from her toes to the top of her head. It tasted close to a tea her mother used to be her when she got sick as a little girl.

Deimos smiled at her, kindly. "It's called nectar. A godly drink. It's healing, of course, and it will help you get your strength back. A changes it's flavor a little to suit each consumer. Now, to explain what's happening...You're in the home of my brother and I. As you know, I'm Deimos. My brother is Phobos. I know it's quite dark here, but I hope you understand, our eyes...are not accustomed to bright light. It's rather painful. I know, we sound like moles," he chuckled, "But it's a comfortable life."

"Deimos...god of terror...Phobos...god of fear. Name is root word of phobia." Lifa mumbled groggily.

Deimos smiled a little more, "You're well educated. I know we sound cruel, because of our...occupation, but we are not. We were born and given our powers, we did not ask for them. I have no intention of frightening you, my Lady. However, my brother isn't as...polite as I am. But he'll leave you alone as long as you are respectful."

"Why do you keep calling me lady?" she lowered the half-empty cup.

"Well, the title you gave me suggested you were noble. You seem quite queen-like to me. I intend to respect that, therefor the title Lady Haddock suits such an intention. If you welcome it." he added at the end.

"Thank you, Deimos. But you can call me Lifa. Please."

"As you wish, milady. Would you like to tell me how you came here?"

Lifa drummed her fingers against the cup, "Oh. I was flying, and the sun got blocked by the clouds. I fell a few hundred feet."

"Great Zeus! How did you survive?!" Deimos looked thoroughly shocked.

Lifa smirked a little, "I went limp as a rag doll. See, on impact, people tend to lock up and go stiff. That's what usually kills them. If you go limp, your bones will bend instead of break. That's how my ribs protected my inside. Also, it helps that I can heal and I'm immortal. Some physics and magic, and here I am, healing."

"You're very smart, Lifa. Brilliant. I'll try to remember that, if need comes to be I'll need too. Well, your fever seems to be gone. The nectar has done it's job. Finish that cup, just in case. There is a wardrobe, and a bathroom, if you wish to change clothes and wash up. I'll be waiting outside with my brother. It's just after sunrise, so we can all have breakfast together. Does that suit you?"

"Breakfast sounds wonderful," Lifa smiled. She practically beamed. He'd just called her brilliant. Brilliant was one of her favorite words, and it was the best compliment she'd ever gotten.

"Very well. I await you to grace us with your presence." Deimos stood, having been sitting on the edge of the bed, bowed, and left the room, closing the door behind him.

Lifa stood up, and titled her head back, finishing off the nectar. It was truly delicious. To her surprise, it did heal her. Her bruises faded. Even the damage to her spine was gone. In fact, she felt amazing! Better than she had in ages. "I gotta get the recipe for that staff," she muttered, wandering over to the bathroom. She showered, brushed her hair, and wrapped herself in a silken, lavender colored bathrobe that had been left on the towel hook for her.

"Alright, let's see here..." she opened the wardrobe. Certainly a lot of black, and nice clothes. "Hm. They're certainly treating me like a lady."

Alright, to look at the situation, she was with two men she didn't know. Two immortal men, who were powerful gods that she'd certainly read a lot about. Deimos was treating her very nicely, but it could just be a facade. She was perfectly aware of that. But this was a place where obviously titles mattered. She'd seen that in Deimos. But if being polite and acting like a lady would get her far here, so be it. She didn't lack feminine charm.

"Alright, if he thinks me to be a noble lady, too bad. I ain't gonna dress like one."

* * *

"You're being too nice to her," Phobos said as Deimos walked past him.

Deimos shrugged, and stepped over to the table. It was being set by Fearlings, in the form of men. "I need her to trust us, brother. Our plan will go much more smoothly if there is no light to hinder our shadows." Deimos shooed the Fearlings away.

"Or we could just kill her."

"Brother, you're so rude. I rather like her, actually. She's quite..."

"Good morning!" came a cheerful voice. Deimos and Phobos turned, and were quite surprised at the sight they found. Lifa was dressed in the same champagne colored, longsleeve tunic, brown leggings, fur boots, fur vest and red cloak Deimos had found her in. Of course, they were much cleaner now. Her hair was held back by a leather head band.

"Charming," Deimos finished only loud enough for his brother to hear, "Good morning, Lady Haddock," he bowed to her again, and shot Phobos a glare. Phobos didn't do the same. He simply crossed his arms, huffed and turned away, muttering. "You look well refreshed."

"Takk," she said. Deimos pulled out a chair for her, and Lifa sat down in it, and immediately began making herself a cup of tea from what was already set on the table. "You've been very helpful to me. I hope I didn't intrude. I'm sorry about the...destruction outside."

Deimos and Phobos sat down around the table with her. Deimos made his own cup, of very dark, strong and bitter coffee. "Not at all. We don't get visitors here. Quite usually, it's some bat-crazy ghost hunters or something along those lines. Never someone like you. This is my brother, Phobos. Phobos, this is Lady Lifa Eir Hiccup Haddock the Fourth. Lifa for short."

Lifa smiled at Phobos, but the sight of his bloody red eyes made her tense. She immediately didn't like him. But she didn't show it, "Pleased to meet you."

"Yeah, likewise." he grunted. Lifa pretended not to be abashed.

She placed her tea cup back on the saucer, "But I'm sorry to say I need to leave. You see, I had a fallout with a friend of mine, and that's why I'm so far from...home. I need to go make amends."

"If I may ask, what was this fallout about?" Deimos looked at her over the rim of his coffee mug. _Hm. Quite beautiful for someone attached to that horrid sun._

"I'd rather not say. He misjudged me, and I lost my temper. But he didn't mean too, and I don't want him to be guilt-tripping himself the entire time I'm gone." she shrugged.

"He? Your boyfriend?" Phobos snorted, "Doesn't sound like a happily-ever after."

"Not my boyfriend. I'm single, thank you. He's my friend. Jokul Frosti. Happily solitary. And I will advise you to hold your tongue before disrespecting me," Lifa added, her voice twisting into a snarl, "Or I'll cut your tongue out if you can't."

Deimos looked amused, and pulled Phobos back into his seat when he got up, no doubt to draw his weapon and slit her throat on the spot. "That's quite aggressive, Lifa."

"From where I came from? Not at all. Disrespecting a queen verbally is a one-way ticket to never being able to say a word again." she said simply.

"You look more like a pathetic runt than a queen to me!" Phobos interjected before Deimos could.

Lifa was done. She slammed her hands down on the table and stood up. "Are you deaf? Or just dense? Did you think I was bluffing? I am not a runt, and I am not pathetic. You, however, _are an imbecile! _Just listening to your droning voice lowers my intelligence level!"

"Little conniving bitch, who do you think is in charge here?!" Phobos was at Lifa's side before she even blinked. Of course, she didn't. She kept her head held high, putting on a look of defiance, a look she learned from her tutor in Scotland.

_"A noble lady keeps herself high above everyone else in the room. To do this, she wears The Look. Teeth apart, lips together. Like a cupid's bow. Keep your head held as if you're carrying a book upon it, eyes hooded. Yes, that's perfect, Lifa."_

She had perfected that look, and was wearing it now. "I believe the one in charge is the one who is the clever one." she spoke with a cool, even voice. It dripped with venom. Deimos leaned back in his chair, watching this happen.

"Shut your damn mouth!" Phobos grabbed her arm and yanked Lifa partially off the ground. Lifa winced. Ouch, that was going to bruise. "I dare you to say something else!"

"Oh? Alright. You're a pitiful, wretchedly foolish peasant. Now _get your bloody hands off of__ me, ya damn arse head!"_

That was when Phobos backhanded her across the face, and Deimos intervened, pulling Phobos away from her, "She is our guest, and you provoked her. Lifa, I'm so sorry, are you alright?"

Lifa glared at Phobos. Her bottom lip as split, and bleeding a little. Other than that, she seemed fine. "Obviously, you don't want to help me. You watched this happen. He is your brother."

"Pardon?"

"You think I'm an idiot?! I have incredibly advanced deductive reasoning skills. You know him better than he knows himself! You knew he'd try to inflict physical harm on me, and if you were truly trying to be my friend, you would have not even let him near me. No, Deimos, I am not fine. I'm surrounded by enemies here. Your intentions are not to help me." she snarled, backing up. She could feel a draft behind her. There was an opening someplace there.

"Unfortunately, I was hoping it wouldn't come to that," Deimos sighed. "Phobos, restrain her. Use some Fearlings if you must."

Lifa judo flipped Phobos as soon as he lunged for her. "Where is Pitch?!" she demanded.

"Dying. His nightmares belong to us now. He was reverted back to General Kosmotis Pitchiner. The poor mortal man can't survive here."

"Kosmotis...?" she looked shocked. "No! You can't kill him, _that's a crime!"_

Phobos wrapped his arms around Lifa from behind, pinning her arms to her side and wrapping his other arm over her throat. "Obviously, we don't care. But we have our own plans, and you're a bit of a problem."

Lifa thrashed, and tried to sink her teeth into his arm. Deimos unsheathed his sword, "I apologize in advance for this, Lady Haddock. But you're a precious source of power..."

Lifa looked up as Deimos finished speaking, "And an excellent hostage." He slammed the handle of his sword into her temple, and she went limp like a puppet who's strings had been cut. Phobos turned around, tossing her onto his shoulder carelessly, and walked towards the wall. Fearlings were lowering a cage-like prison. More like a...a giant lantern. It had pitch black, slightly-see through walls and a latch-shut door. Phobos locked Lifa inside, and Deimos watched as the Fearlings turned the lever that made it rise back to the ceiling, about fifty yards overhead. One down.

"Like I said, put light in a lantern, and it can't escape." he smiled in satisfaction.

**A/N Yep, Deimos tried being nice to her but Phobos just wanted to kill her or lock her up. Possibly both. Phobos thrives in blood. Deimos is obviously the genius in the group. And they took the Fearlings inside Pitch for their use, so Pitch was turned human again. They conquered Pitch's lair.**** Lifa is a prisoner of war now.**

**Ta da, plot development and my villains! Pretty please review! And yes, I did in fact analyze Jack's psychological condition and determine his phobia. Lifa's phobia? Soon to be revealed.**


	27. Chapter 27

**A/N MUST SHARE THIS WITH THE FROSTBURN SHIPPERS- Look at this gif from tumblr. The hand on the left? Jack's. The hand on the right? Lifa's. Go to my tumblr, and search this tag in my archive**

**frostburn hand touch**

**Imagine two people touching and this energy going through them. For Jack and Lifa, two lonely people, it's like a feeling of relief and living. Like a really hot summer day, and you jump into a cold pool. The relief. And then feeling sad all week, and then you to a concert nd discover how much you love this new type of music, or start reading a new book and it completely captures you. Unlike Lifa, Jack can trust easily and love, too. He loves and trusts the Guardians. Lifa has learned that she can't trust anyone, because she's been betrayed so many times and had so many attempts on her life. The people she loved are long gone. Lifa dealt with her loneliness by becoming, essentially, a sociopath. Cutting off her emotions, except for anger, she isolated herself and drove mostly on her survival instinct. Jack instead learned the significance and important of love, trust and loyalty, and that's why he craves it more than an average person. He sees that, whereas Lifa is completely blind to it. Jack learned how essential, and powerful it is to be compassionate. Lifa learned how powerful it is to be stoic and harsh. They're so different, and they both need each other so much to balance each other. Isn't it weird how Jack, the coldest person on earth, is the compassionate one and Lifa, the embodiment of light, is the apathetic one?**

**Wow this is really cliche, I'm just gonna start the chapter now.**

* * *

"North, we need to go look for her."

North sighed, rubbing his eyes tiredly. It was the fifth time in two hours Jack had burst into his office with a fresh new coat of worry and panic, demanding they go look for Lifa. Over and over, North told him the same thing. "Jack, for the umpteenth time..."

"North, _do you know what time it is?!"_

"No! I'm working, Jack, I-"

"The sun just went down. She's been gone for two days!"

That certainly changed North's view on the situation. Two days...? Certainly it hadn't been that long. But he gazed at the clock on the wall, and sure enough, quite a large amount of hours had passed.

"You are right, Jack. Something must have happened. I will get sleigh ready."

* * *

Jack burst into Bunny's room, "Bunny, come on, We're leav- Bunny?"

North was getting the sleigh ready, and Jack had run off to get Bunny. North had said nothing as he'd gone, but Jack hadn't thought that was strange. Now...well, in short, Bunny was nowhere to be seen. Jack wandered into the room, clutching his staff close to his chest. He'd told Bunny not to leave. But...

He knelt down at the floor, and ran his hand over it. Dirt. Just a little, but it was fresh earth. A tunnel had been made here.

"Bunny...you bastard, I told you...not to..." Jack sank to the floor. Bunny had left? And North knew, Jack was sure of it, and Bunny probably told North to keep it from him.

Well, he couldn't do anything about it now. Jack stood up, and opened the window, and flew outside, over the other side of the building and landed on the sleigh's ramp, and hopping into the sleigh.

North finished hooking up the reindeer and got into the sleigh with him. Taking the reigns, he turned to Jack. "Jack, listen, I-"

"Save it." Jack snapped, perching on the back of the sleigh. North turned around, guilt clawing at him. He should have told Jack...No, it was for the young man's own good. In silence, the sleigh took to the air, and they went in search for Lifa.

Jack edged forward on the sleigh to the globe installed on the front of it. "Got to Norway. It's the first place she would go. Someplace called Berk...or at least close to it."

North was surprised how Jack would possibly know that. But he didn't argue, "Da. Norway it is."

* * *

Lifa moaned, curling up in a ball of pain and despair. As she moved, the entire cage swayed. No, not cage...Lifa lifted her head to look around. The cage was about four feet wide, a circle, and seven feet tall. So she had two feet of space above her head if she stood up, and not quite enough room to lay down without curling up. She pulled her fur vest around her tightly, and then took of her cloak, folding it into a pillow and propping it behind her back.

Then she realized she was being kept in a giant lantern. The glass panes were at least five inches thick, and black and mottled, barely giving any visibility.

"OI! IS THIS SOME KIND OF SICK JOKE?!" She shouted, slamming her fists against the glass, barely rattling it. "' CAUSE I AIN'T LAUGHIN', YOU SON OF A BITCH! DEIMOS! HEY!" She backed up, and looked around, her breath quickening. "No no...please, I c-can't...It's too dark!" She pressed her hands against the walls, hyperventilating. It was dark, and small and..

Lifa jerked back from the glass, gasping in pain. It felt like her hands had been burned. "What in Thor's name...?"

Darkness filled the lantern, with a thick, smoke like form. Lifa choked, and dropped to her knees. _Oh gods, I can't breathe, I can't...it hurts, it hurts ithurtsihurts!__  
_

Hitting the floor of the lantern with a thud, Lifa shuddered in pain. She couldn't even scream, the air had left her lungs so quickly. It felt like her very like was being ripped out of her. _What the hell is this stuff?!_

Darkness. Darkness was trying to smother her.

Lifa couldn't take this.

"It's dark, please, let me out!_ It hurts, leave me alone, I want to go home!_"

* * *

"Phobos, I hardly think that is necessary. The poor thing has suffered enough already. Can't you...play...with her later?" Deimos drawled absently, leaning back in his throne like seat that stood at the raised level of the room, gazing up at the lantern-cage Phobos was glaring at, his blood red eyes darkening steadily.

"I'm bored, brother." he deadpanned.

"Well, if you're so bored, why don't you do something productive?"

"This is productive. I'm draining her power. You said we needed to do that."

Deimos sighed, "Yes, but I want her alive. We _need _her to stay alive."

"Fine." Phobos turned around, breaking contact. Silence hung between the two brothers, and Phobos smirked as he heard Lifa's muffled whimpers and cries of pain from above. Obviously, she was trying to keep silent, but not succeeding.

"I was just knocking that excuse for a "queen" off her high horse."

* * *

Jack looked over the edge of the sleigh. "North, look on that island. There's another one northeast of here. I'll take that one."

"Jack, I do not want you going alone," North protested.

Jack turned around. He had a quiver of arrows, bow and staff strapped to it, resting against his back, and a rapier sword's sheath resting on his belt. "I'll be fine." he grinned, drawing the blade. With his staff still on his person, he could still fly. _Without holding onto it. _That's right, he could fly without it in his hands. As long as they were separated, he could fly.

"Meet you back on the shores of Norway."

Before North could protest, Jack dove off the sleigh, and rocketed at speeds over a hundred and twenty mph to Outcast Island.

* * *

Jack landed lightly on the island. He shivered at the memory of his last experience in this place. But he knew Lifa was here. The crater was a dead give away. And the angel-wing like scorch marks in the middle of it...yes. She was here. _Oh God, please don't let Pitch have her._

He wandered slowly through the dead trees, towards where he remembered the opening of the lair to be. His whole mind as screaming at him to get the hell out of there. Flashbacks came fast and strong, reminding him of all the pain he'd endured there. Still, he didn't turn around. He wouldn't leave his Sunburn in that place.

If she was the sun, how long could she live in the dark?

What if she was hurt? God forbid, what if she was _dead?!_

He was overreacting. He had to be! But he was so terrified at what he was going to find. _Please, Sunshine, please please be safe._

* * *

_"_Brother, we have a visitor on our doorstep. Bring down our Lady Haddock, would you?" Deimos stood up off his chair, straightening is night-black tweed trench coat. He intended to dress warmly for the opponent he was about to approach. He was very well dressed, for someone with such disgusting intentions. "I would like to have a word with her."

"Hm. Sure." Phobos kicked the lever, and the prison plummeted downward. Deimos barely got to the lever in time to stop the cage from slamming into the stone floor.

"You could have killed her!" he snarled at Phobos as he walked past him, shoving his brother away. Phobos stumbled back, and placed his hand on the hilt of his sword cautiously.

"Go. Keep that damned winter Guardian out!" he ordered Phobos.

"Who?" Phobos blinked stupidly.

"The ice spirit! Winter Prince! Guardian of Fun! Jack Frost!" Deimos struggled to keep his temper under control. Phobos finally understood, and muttered, "Oh. Him." After Phobos left to follow orders, Deimos went to the cage, unlatched the door and pulled it open.

Lifa was pressing herself as far back against the wall as she could, her knees drawn close to her chest and face buried in her hands. Silent sobs shook her slender shoulders.

"Why, whatever are you crying for, my dear?" Deimos's silken voice made her flinch. Deimos looked down at her.

Lifa whispered brokenly, "Det er mørkt. Jeg er redd!" (**A/N translation: It's dark. I'm scared.)**

"Oh, I had no idea the dark frightened you." Deimos knelt down, "I'm very sorry. But I'll help you, if you'll help me."

"Nei!" she shook her head. (**A/N translation: NO!)**

"Why not? Do you like it in here? Is that why?"

"Jeg hater det her!" she shouted, still not uncovering her face. (**A/N translation: I hate it here!)**

"I'm sure you do," he reached out, gently pulling her hands from her face. Lifa cringed. She just couldn't make herself fight back. Whatever that dark stuff had done to her...it'd taken all the fight out of her. "You would like to leave. I could arrange that. Can you speak English, darling?"

"Don't call me that. I'm...I'm not your darling. I'm not your anything!" she tried to pull away from him, but there was nowhere to go.

"On the contrary, I find you quite lovely, and would very much like to make you my...companion."

"I don't understand," Lifa dared to look at him, lifting her tear-streaked face. Tears kept streaming down her cheeks.

"I'll explain, then. I think you're quite beautiful. Your dark hair is lovely, your freckles are adorable, your accent is quite charming, and I find everything about you quite becoming. I don't want Phobos to harm you anymore. But I can only prevent such a horrid act if you help me."

"You want me to be with you." she deadpanned in realization.

"Yes," Deimos smiled at her, nodding as if to praise her. He cupped her face in his hand, using his thumbs to wiped the tears that wouldn't stop flowing away, "I am a god. A king, if I do say so myself. And I lack the most important part of myself," with that, he took Lifa's hands and helped her to her feet. "A queen to rule next to me."

"You're insane." Lifa muttered.

"Oh? And what do you have to say about insanity, dear one?"

"N-ninety five percent...of psychopaths...think they're sane..."

"And the other five percent?"

"They're aware they're insane. Those are the dangerous ones." She stated flatly.

"Another thing I'm growing to love is that you're a brilliant genius. A very clever young woman," Deimos tucked Lifa's hair out of her face. As he did, his finger brushes close against her temple, and her eyes darkened. _He was putting her mind under his control._

"Who the Winter Guardian isn't even close to being worthy of. What have you to say? Be mine, and you have your freedom."

They'd hurt her, locked her up, tricked her, helped her, and now Deimos was showering her with praise and offering her...safety and comfort. Her mind felt incredibly foggy. But she didn't _despise _Deimos. His thick, raven black hair and pure, silver eyes reminded her of someone. And how tall he was...that was the same, too.

"You look like Koli," her voice cracked.

Deimos gazed down at her sadly, "I'm sorry, my lady, but I am not him. He is long gone from your life. It's just me now. What is your answer?"

Lifa was just so _tired. _And the gods forbid, she could not sit in that dark anymore. It terrified her. But she was tired of being alone. And what did Jokul matter, anyway?

"Yes." she said simply, stepping forward and laying her head against Deimos' chest. He smiled, wrapping his arms around her. Lifa's eyes darkened more.

"Thank you, dearest. Now, I have one favor to ask of you..."

* * *

Jack was about to step into the lair when the red-eyed psychopath lunged out of the dark and tried to decapitate him. Jack had barely brought his own rapier to block the Greek short sword in time.

"Hey, wait a minute...You're not Pitch." he blinked in surprise.

"No, I'm not. That pathetic fool is meeting Hades, and you're hitching a ride with him!" the gray-haired freak snarled, pushing the blade down and forcing Jack to his knees.

Unfortunately for the Psycho, (as Jack had deemed him at the moment) Jack was lighter on his feet than his opponent realized. He ducked down quickly, and scooted behind him at top speed, and kicked Phobos over. Before he could react, Jack jumped on top of him, holding his free arm against his back, and his blade against his throat.

"I'm going to ask you a quick question. Answer it, and I'll let you go, okay?"

"Rotten, frozen piece of trash, you'll let me go before I bring your biggest fears to life!"

"You sound like Pitch," Jack spat, pressing the blade a little harder against his throat, "Who are you?"

Phobos began to struggle, "Phobos, god of personal fears! Where do you think the word phobia comes from? I know all _your _phobias, Jack Frost."

"Oh, really? Humor me."

"Autophobia, fear of being alone...and of yourself. Hydrophobia, fear of water. Aquaphobia, fear of drowning. Hemophobia, fear of blood. More specifically, the sight of blood of those you care about..."

Jack's grip loosened. He wanted to get away from this creep.

"And the big one, athazagoraphobia. Fear of being forgotten, ignored or forgetting." Phobos finished cheerily, throwing Jack off him, and backing away to Jack's right. Jack backed away from him, getting into third position, of fencing. _Protect the right side. _

"Astraphobia, fear of thunder. Also lightning, but not in this case. Achluophobia, fear of darkness. Basophobia, fear of not being able to stand. Claustrophobia, fear of confined and small places. Virgintiphobia, fear of being raped. Merinthophobia, fear of being tied up. You know, several times in her life, she was taken hostage by other vikings...Who were not very kind to young girls, if I may add. She escaped, of course, but was left with those last three phobias. And her biggest phobia, that came true, tragically, Necrophobia. Fear of loved one's dying. Her poor family."

"Who the hell are you talking about? What is _wrong _with you?!" Jack quickly sheathed is sword, pulled his recurve bow off the quiver and draw an icy arrow. He didn't want to get close to Phobos, but he was prepared for that.

"I'm talking about your runt of a friend in the fur-vest. Lifa Eir whatsit somethin' the fourth. She's terrified of a lot of things. Living in her time period, she wasn't as safe as most children could be. By the age of fourteen, she'd developed all those fears. Of curse, Thunder and loss of her family always frightened her..."

"You're making her sound like a coward!" Jack released the arrow.

Phobos shouted in pain as the arrow pierced his arm, "You bastard, you actually shot me?!"

Jack drew another arrow, "Next one will be closer to something a little more vital."

"She is a coward, you know. Cried for an hour when we locked her up," Phobos yanked the arrow out, and mimicked Lifa's voice perfectly, "It's dark, please, let me out! It hurts, please leave me alone, I want to go home!"

It felt like a rusty knife was being twisted around in Jack's heart. Lifa's voice cut through his painfully, "She is not a coward. She's the bravest person I've ever met, and if you hurt her, _I'll_ _break your hands. _NOW TELL ME WHERE SHE IS!"

"I'm right here, Jokul."

Jack spun around to see Lifa striding towards him. "Put the bow down...let's just go."

He looked back and forth between her and Phobos. He made up his mind and ran up to Lifa, "Are you alright?" he demanded, taking her by her shoulders. "Did they hurt you? How many Jack's do you see?"

She blinked tiredly, "I just want to go home."

"Alright, just-" Jack turned around, but the psychotic freak Phobos was gone. "N-nevermind..."

Lifa watched the sun go down, and her knees buckled. Jack caught her, "Hey, stay with me for just a little longer, okay? Come on, Sunshine, just stay awake..."

* * *

Deimos and Phobos watched from the shadows as Jack cradled Lifa against his chest, and watched the sky as North's sleigh drew closer.

"You brainwashed her," Phobos smirked.

"Indeed. She's far too hot-headed to have done our bidding without some...nudging along. But phase one of our plan is nearly complete."

Deimos watched as the trio boarded the sleigh, and they took off, heading North. Jack kept Lifa held close, terrified to let go. The girl was too pale, sleeping and looked quite...dead. Perfect. Jack wouldn't even suspect foul play from her.

Deimos smiled, "Thanks to our little Sunshine, we'll be rid of at least two Guardians in two day's time."

* * *

**A/N some pretty dark stuff about Lifa's fears. No, she wasn't raped. She almost was once, though, during a time when she was a hostage at age thirteen, a few months before her arranged marriage. Narrowly got out of that mess...Lifa is terrified of the dark. And she is most definitely brain washed by Deimos's powers. She would have broken his neck as soon as he opened the cage, if she'd been in her right mind. **

**So what's going to happen now? What did Deimos ask Lifa to do?**

**Alright, Let's get at least five reviews for this chapter before I start writing the next. I'm struggling to get the plot to thicken, and now I'm improvising a lot. Reviews are needed if you want the next chapter before I go back to school on monday! Review lots, and I'll cram in two chapters tomorrow! Every five reviews, and I'll work my arse off to crank out more for you guys to read.**

**Au revior, mon amis!**


	28. Chapter 28

Her head hurt. Not just some petty little head ache that jabs at you forehead during a math class, no, this was a raging agony that burned behind her eyes. But she couldn't do anything about it. Her body wouldn't respond to her own commands. The sun had set early, and she'd made it do that. She wasn't even asleep, but she couldn't make herself move.

And Lifa had this horrible urge to get her dagger and drive it into the heart of the person cradling her so gently and looking at her with such worried blue eyes.

_**Just kill him. It will stop hurting.**_

Like hell she would. Just because she was trapped in some little dark room in her own damn mind didn't mean she'd listen to some creepy little voice telling her to slit Jokul's throat. He was being kind to her, and he looked downright terrified, and kept asking North if the sleigh could go faster (which it could not) every fifteen minutes. No, she would not kill him.

_**It isn't your decision to make.**_

_Wanna bet? _She thought weakly, shivering. The pain moved from her head to the rest of her body. Lifa moaned quietly, and was pleasantly surprised when Jack hugged her a little tighter, and shushed quietly. Lifa tensed at another wave of pain, and her forehead broke out in sweat.

This was going to be a very long, hard fight.

* * *

"North, she's burning up." Jack called out, holding his hand against Lifa's forehead, and wincing. A normal person's skin was warm enough to him, but a raging fever was almost painfully hot. /lifa let out a high pitched, keen of pain, and Jack cringed. "Are we almost there?"

"Yes." North responded, relieved to see Santoff Clausen in the distance. "Try to keep fever down, Jack."

"How the heck do I do that?"

"Use ice."

Was he joking? He could end up freezing her to death instead!

"Jokul...?"

Jack looked down at her again. Thank God, her eyes were open. Glassy from the fever, yes, and darkened from what Jack assumed to be exhaustion, but open. "Don't talk, okay? You need to sleep."

Lifa shook her head weakly. More like a twitch from side to side, actually. "N-no...you don't un...dersta..."

Jack ignored her, and ran his fingers through her hair, letting frost spread over her clothes, hair and forehead. Hopefully that would keep the fever at bay. Jack hated the way she looked right now. Pale from exhaustion, her lip split and bleeding, bruises on her neck left behind from Phobos's strangle hold, and her cheeks flushed a harsh red from the blistering fever that just wouldn't let off. But she didn't stop mumbling, "Y-you need t-to...leave...me..."

"What? No!" Jack stared in shock. Why the heck would they leave her behind?

The sleigh jolted and jostled as it landed on the run way, and Lifa let out a strangled cry of pain from being tossed around even in the slightest. She'd been fine when she'd walked out of the lair. Why was she like this now?

"Lifa, listen. We're going to move you now, okay?" Jack began, "It'll hurt, but I promise you'll feel better soon. Ready?"

She shook her head, "No...! W-weren't you...listening?! I said to-"

Jack stood up suddenly, picking up Lifa with him. "And I said no. I don't know why you want me to do it, but I'm am not leaving you here. I'm helping you, so be quiet and let me!" he ordered.

Lifa's eyes widened and her mouth dropped open slightly, genuinely surprised. Jack smirked a little bit, stepping off the sleigh. "Yeah, I'm bossy, too. Let's get you inside."

* * *

"Infirmary is that way, Jack." North said, guiding Jack down the right hall. Jack was carrying Lifa bridal style, and at this point, she'd become very quiet. She'd finally given up trying to convince Jack to ditch her for whatever reason, and was resting her head against his shoulder. She wasn't difficult to carry. In fact, she was as lightweight as he was.

"What are you going to do, North?"

"I'm going to summon the other Guardians. We need to talk about our new...enemy." North gazed at Jack and then the precious cargo in his arms. "Can you take care of her? Should I send Yeti's to help?"

Jack shook his head, "I got it."

"If you do need anything, you just shout, alright?"

"Yes, North."

After North left, Jack carried Lifa into the infirmary. Laying her down on a bed, and pulling the blanket over her, Jack just stood there, unsure of what to do. Pulling up a chair, he sat down next to her, and tapped his fingers on his staff.

"You're cute when you're worried. Your eyebrows get all scrunched together."

Jack lifted his head, smiling wearily, "You're suppose to be asleep, Sunburn."

"I can't. My head hurts." she muttered, trying to sit up.

"Oh no,you don't. Lay down."

Lifa didn't protest when Jack put his hand on her arm and eased her back against the pillows. "I'm sorry," she murmured tiredly.

"What the heck are you sorry for?"

"For making all of you come and save my sorry ass."

"We wanted to help," Jack protested, "I didn't want you getting hurt, and I didn't know where you were and I-"

"Why are you using "I" instead of "we" all of a sudden?"

"Gaaaah, You _know _what I meant! We were all scared! And we finally find you, and you're hostage with some weird psychotic Phobos guy, and-" he lay his hand on her forehead, "You still have a fever, and why are you awake?! The sun is down!"

Lifa pushed his hand away, "Please don't touch me. I've had one guy touchy-feely with me already."

Jack's eyes darkened, "Define touchy-feely."

"He was just ultra flirty and friendly, really polite but also really creepy." She shuddered. "I need some personal space."

"Phobos?!"

"No, Deimos. Can we leave it alone now?"

Jack stood up and began pacing, "Alright, let me get this straight. You flew off, fell, made a crater, probably got banged up, and two creeps take you hostage, and one of them _flirts _with you and invades your personal bubble? No, we can't leave it alone!"

"What want to do, get me to go and see a shrink? I'm fine, Jack." Lifa rolled over, pulling the blanket over her head. "Leave me alone."

"No."

"Why the hell not?!"

"Because," he yanked the blanket off, and shoved his face close to hers, "You've been alone long enough, and I'm making a point to never let you be alone again. You are not fine, Sunshine. Stop trying to take everything on your own!"

Lifa pressed herself back against the pillows. Jack was way too close for comfort. "Watch me. It's what I do best," she snapped.

"And making snow is what I do best, but it's no fun for me if no one is around to love what I do!" He countered, "Aren't you tired of being on your own? Living alone, doing everything alone? Not having anyone to take care of you?!"

Lifa looked away, "I'm not obligated to talk to you about this. Get out."

"I am not leaving. Answer the questions!" he snapped back.

"No!" she put her hands on Jack's chest and shoved him away. Even though it didn't do her much good. She could barely raise her arms. Jack took her hands and held onto them, "I'm not leaving until you do!"

"Jokul-"

"Sunburn." he cut her off.

The headache was coming back, trying to dominate her entire brain. Lifa gritted her teeth against it. She wished everything would just _**stop.**_Jack would stop looking at her, he'd let go of her hands, he'd stop asking her questions, stop trying to help her, he'd just stop being...The sweetest person she'd ever met. Also the densest, and the most irritating._  
_

"Yes." she finally whispered. The pain behind her eyes receded for a moment. "I don't want to be alone anymore. N-not after I was...in that place..."

"Scoot over," Jack said quietly, sitting on the bed next to her. He didn't let go of her hand, and put his free arm around her shoulders. _Her fever hasn't gone down, _he thought.

"I was on my own in the dark, they put me in a cage! In some giant kind of...of l-lantern! And I couldn't breathe anymore, it filled up up w-with this...black smoke and it _hurt so much."_

Jack brushed his thumb over the top of her hand gently, trying to comfort her. He realized the palm of her hand, and fingers were burned. Maybe that was why she wasn't pulling away. The cold soothed the pain. But he remained silent.

"And there's something in my head now and it hurts, too, and I don't know what to do. Deimos did something to me!" Lifa finally broke.

Jack cradled her close against his chest while she clung to his hoody and sobbed. God, he hated that noise. It was the most heartbreaking sound he'd ever heard. Without thinking, he kissed her forehead. Frost spread over her head, and the fever quelled. Lifa's cries eventually subsided to quiet hiccups, and shuddering, uneven breaths.

"We'll figure it out tomorrow, alright? Just sleep for now. Whatever he did, I promise I'll help fix it." he murmured, rubbing his hand up and down her back comfortingly.

Lifa shook her head, "It told me to kill you."

_Oh. _That's why she wanted him to leave her behind. Jack smiled, and cupped his hand under her chin, making her look at him. She looked surprised to see him smiling. What he said next made her smile, too.

"Well, it obviously did the worst possible thing. It underestimated you."

* * *

**A/N Lifa is beginning to trust Jack, and even fall for him a little. Jack has definitely fallen for her. Lifa's little breakdown was a result of her illness, warring mind, and her ordeal of being left in the dark. The dark absolutely terrifies her, so I wasn't surprised when I decided it'd be a good idea to write her having a little melt down. **

**This was my first attempt at anything remotely romantic. Please review it, lots and lots pretty please because I actually for once have no idea what the hell I'm doing. Like, "oh yes let's write about two people being all lovey dovey and cute-OH WAIT I'M A SOCIOPATH HAHA jk I can't do this"**

**Yeah, I'm as close to a sociopath as I can get at age fourteen...Whaddaya know, I'm Sherlock! **

**The entire time I wrote this I had some song I learned in preschool stuck in my head. "You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me happy when skies are gray" and the whole shin-dig. Anyone else know this song? Think maybe I should just throw it into the story at some point? **

**Anyway, you'll all be thrilled to hear Bunny was be coming back into the story soon.**

**PLEASE REVIEW PLEASE REVIEW **

**MERCI, AU REVOIR MON AMIS**

**(btw how many of you checked out that frostburn thing on my tumblr? if you didn't, my tumblr is the same user name as my fanfic account here. Just search this tag in my archive- frostburn hand touch- Seriously, I can't get over how much I love it. Alright, you are all dismissed. *salute*)**


	29. Chapter 29

**A/N I just had the most brilliant crossover realization with Tangled with a tumblr friend. If Lifa controls the sun, that means she basically created the sun flower, gave Rapunzel her powers and all that. If she hadn't allowed that drop of sunlight to fall to the Earth, Rapunzel wouldn't have been born! Meaning, Lifa's healing increases in tenfold when she sings. After all, Lifa is majorly musical. She was in her human life, and that MiM must have thought that would be important as an immortal. Lifa now carries a part of Rapunzel inside her now that Rapunzel is gone, and heals with Rapunzel's healing incantation because she and Rapunzel were close friends, and she doesn't want Rapunzel to be forgotten. Lifa also might have known Merida, having been married into Clan Macintosh, and therefore, Allies with Clan Dunbroch. Probably knew Merida when Merida inherited the rule of her kingdom. AND OF COURSE, we all know how she knows Hiccup (daddy's baby girl). Lifa could end up bringing The Big Four together somehow, or she's the link between them, and Jack doesn't even realize how much Lifa had her hand in their fates.**

**I APPROVE OF THIS HEADCANON. THIS MAKES ME SO EXCITED. **

**But seriously, Lifa loves inventing. Imagine her building something and Hiccup being all "that's my girl" and then her demolishing something and Astrid just being like "she gets it from my side of the family" and then Lifa and Rapunzel having musical numbers together (Lifa is a Guardian at that point), and Lifa and Merida having sword duels and archery contests, and wreaking havoc with the triplets.**

**Another thing: I set up my deviantart and my sister got my PaintToolSai again, HUZZAH! my deviantart is xkeyblademasterx1221. I'm getting started on drawings right after this chapter.**

**Alright, rant over. Alonsy!**

* * *

Bunny was exhausted. Stumbling back into Santoff Clausen, several Yeti looked at him in alarm. Fresh out of egg grenades, battered and beaten, and very, very grumpy.

He'd been battling Fearlings for forty eight hours straight, keeping them at bay. How had they formed so quickly?

"Bunny!"

Bunnymund jumped in alarm, and spun around, but it was just Tooth. He relaxed, just a little. "Ello, Tooth. What're you doin' here in the Pole?"

"Checking in on Jack and our Sunshine. They finally found her, thank Manny!" Tooth flitted in front of him from left to right. Bunny would've asked her to keep still, but such a thing wasn't really possible.

"Where did Sunny go?"

"Well, North was just about to explain that to me. But he wants you to go talk to Jack first," Tooth looked at him pointedly, "And go get patched up. How many Fearlings did you fight?!"

"I lost count at 174." he grunted, turning around and heading to the infirmary. Tooth frowned, and flew down the hall behind him.

"I'm no expert on your relationship with Jack, but I think he's going to be pretty upset about you leaving without telling him." she told him. Bunny waved his paw at her, "He'll get over it." he replied.

Tooth grabbed his arm, stopping him in front of the infirmary door. "You're going to apologize to him. And then you're going to get patched up and not go off on your own again, got it?"

Bunny flattened his ears at Tooth's tone. Basically, it was that mom-voice that means _disobey-me-and-you-will-suffer._

"Good," she smiled, letting go of his arm, "I can see I made me point. Now lets go check up on the kids."

When Tooth pushed open the door, she did not expect to find what she did. "Oh, my...That is the most _adorable _thing I've ever seen!"

"What're ya goin' on about, Tooth- What the hell?" Bunny poked his head through the door.

Lifa and Jack were asleep. That was fine. But they were in the same bed, _together. _Jack had his arm thrown on top of her shoulders protectively, keeping her cradled against his chest. His staff lay seemingly forgotten, leaning against the bedside table. His free hand was resting between the two pillows, and Lifa had her fingers laced through his. Both seemed very content, and fast asleep. Lifa seemed perfectly content right where she was. Every time Jack breathed, a puff of cold air sent frost spread over Lifa's forehead and hair. The fever still had not broken, but Jack had successfully kept it at bay.

"What, did Frostbite confess his feelings or something? I was gone for two days, how much could I possibly have missed? Tooth?" Bunny looked at Tooth. "Oi!"

"They're so cute together," she gushed again, clasping her hands together and flitting forward, looking down at them. She smiled again, and looked at Bunny, pointing at the two teenagers.

"Yeah, I see." Bunny stood on the other side of the bed. "Does Lifa's face look red to you?"

"Maybe she's blushing," Tooth suggested, smiling once again.

"No, I meant do you think she's burning up?"

Tooth's smile faltered, and she dropped her gaze to Lifa. Laying the back of her hand against Lifa's cheek, she frowned. "You're right. She does have a fever. Jack must have been trying to break it. You know, with him being a walking ice pack and all."

"That's actually pretty...smart." Bunny decided.

Tooth shook her head, and grabbed a chair. Pulling it over, she sat Bunny down in it, much to his annoyance. Gathering up some medical supplies, she said,

"Well, since Jack has Lifa taken care of, and he's unhurt, let's patch you up."

Bunny fidgeted while Tooth cleaned up some particularly nasty gashes over his right arm and shoulder. He kept casting glances at Jack and Lifa. _Jeez, the boy grew up fast enough?_

"I know what you're thinking, E. Aster Bunnymund." Tooth chirped, bandaging his arm expertly. Bunny looked at her skeptically, "Do ya really?"

"You think Jack is too young to start loving someone, especially after being alone for so long, and Lifa isn't the best match for him."

"No, that's...only part of it. Look, Lifa is the sun. Her own element destroys Jack's."

"Actually, sunlight on snow is beautiful." Tooth countered, cleaning up the medical supplies. "You look half mummy." she smiled.

"The problem is that a war has begun. I barely made a dent out there, Tooth. There are still so many Fearlings...one of us could be killed in this, easily. What if it's Lifa? She would sacrifice herself in a heartbeat if she thought it would help us win!" Bunny rubbed his eyes tiredly, "I hate the thought of her getting hurt. We all do. Sandy especially, they've been friends for so long..."

"But Jack is falling in love with her. Oh, no, Bunny, you're _right..." _Tooth glanced at the two teenagers. Jack looked so...happy where he was, being close to her. Lifa just seemed content. Bunny was spot on. A war was not the time to be trying to start a love life.

"Yeah. I hate it when I'm right," he grunted. It was never a good thing when Bunny, the realist and the pessimist, was right.

* * *

Jack blinked his eyes open blearily. His eyes widened in surprise to see Lifa's face so close to his, but then he smiled. She hadn't pulled out of his hug overnight. Smiling a little, he let go of her hand and lay his palm against her fever. His smile disappeared when he realized her fever hadn't broken. Lifa should have healed while she was asleep. But her powers had done nothing. What the hell had Deimos done?

Reluctantly, he let go of her, tucked the blanket around her shoulders and sat up. Swinging his legs over the side of the bed, Jack stood and looked around.

Then he spotted Bunny snoozing in a chair, arms crossed, bandaged like a half-mummy half-Pooka hybrid, and marched over to him.

Jack grabbed hold of the back of the chair and promptly dumped Bunny ungracefully out of it to the ground, with a loud, "BLOODY HELL?!"

Bunny fell flat on his face, and pushed himself off on the floor. "Alright, who's the unlucky little-" he turned around, and saw Jack. "Oh. Hey, Jackie."

"Hey? HEY JACKIE? You ditch me for two days, don't tell me where you are, make North keep it a secret, go off when I specifically tell you not too," Jack ticked all the problems off his fingers, "Come back patched up and battered, and you just say, _HEY JACKIE?! ARE YOU MENTAL?!"_

"Umm..." Bunny stood up, green eyes darting their gaze around nervously. He wasn't used to being yelled at. "Glad to be home?" He attempted.

"E. Aster Bunnymund?"

"Yeah?"

Jack marched back across the room, picked up his sword sheath from next to his staff and turned back to Bunny, "I'm going to _kill you!"_

"Crikey! Now now, Jack, I don't think ya need a sword..." _Who the hell gave him a sword?! _Bunny turned and ran, and Jack chased him around the room, with the sword sheathed, of course, until Tooth came in carrying a tea tray.

She gasped, put the tray down on a table, and planted her hands on her hips, "Jackson Frost, _you put that sword down right now!"_

Jack immediately dropped it and held his hands up, backing up, trying to look innocent. Tooth turned to Bunny, "And you! Sit down before you reopen your wounds!" Bunny promptly sat down in a chair, not wanting to face Tooth's wrath.

"Whas'hap'nin?"

Jack turned around to see Lifa sitting up, and yawning. "Why're we all yelling?"

"Oh, you're awake! Welcome back, sweetheart." Tooth immediately flitted over to Lifa, picking up the tea tray as she went. "Here, drink this." Tooth ordered, taking Lifa's hands and curling her fingers around the mug. Lifa grunted, "eh?"

"It's just chamomile." Tooth smiled. Lifa muttered, "oh," and immediately began drinking it. She didn't realize how thirsty she'd been, but it'd definitely snapped into perspective now. Tooth flitted around nervously, "Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

Lifa shook her head no. "It's just my head. It's killing me, but I don't th-" she stopped talking, and froze.

"What's wrong? Sweetheart, are you alright?" Tooth worried.

Jack and Bunny stood up, and both walked over to the bed. Bunny waved his paw in front of her face, but got no response.

"I think she's in shock?" Bunny suggested uncertainly.

"Sunshine? Hey, come on, talk to us." Jack knelt on the bed next to her. "This isn't funny, quit scaring me. Hey!" He put his hand on her shoulder, and shook her gently.

The reaction was instantaneous. Lifa grabbed Jack's fingers, the index and middle, and bent them back until they touched the back of his hand with a sickening snap. Jack howled in pain, and Bunny lunged forward, pulling Lifa away from him. Lifa thrashed and struggled, while Jack staggered back, clutching his mangled fingers against his chest. Tooth darted around the bed, and hugged Jack.

Jack's facial expression was the pure definition of shock,hurt and worry. "L-Lifa?"

"Tooth, get the dreamsand out of that cabinet, NOW! We need to- _**OW!"** _Lifa elbowed Bunny in the face, but he didn't release his grip. Tooth let go of Jack and began searching in the cabinet he'd referred too. Sandy left them some dream sand in case it was ever needed in the infirmary to put someone under.

"No, you can't just knock her out!" Jack stepped between the bed and Tooth, "We need to do something, you don't understand, look at her!"

Tooth dared to glance at Lifa, and it broke her heart instantly. She was still trying to attack Bunny, but she was crying. Her eyes were unnaturally dark, and she was shaking all over.

Tooth stared at the ground. Jack clenched his fists, "She's in pain, you need to help her!"_  
_

"Tooth. Now." Bunny said quietly, still restraining Lifa. Tooth pushed past Jack, murmuring, "I'm sorry, Jack," and uncorked the bottle of dream sand, and tossing some in Lifa's face.

Her struggles subsided, and her eyelids fluttered as she fought to stay awake. Jack shoved Tooth aside, "_I TOLD YOU NOT TO DO THAT!"_

"JACK." Bunny snapped. Jack spun around. Bunny was pulling the blanket over Lifa, letting her sleep. "Tooth didn't have a choice. If Lifa stays conscious...look, it's hard to explain. Tell Tooth you're sorry."

"No, I'm not-"

"Say you're sorry!"

Jack glanced at Tooth, and felt guilt pang through his chest. Tooth was wringing her hands worriedly, staring at the floor, and looking dangerously close to bursting into tears.

"I'm sorry," Jack said quietly.

"It's alright, Sweet tooth." Tooth gave him a watery smile.

"Alright. Now that things are calmed down, I can explain. Jack, I know what's wrong with Lifa. I've seen it happen to some of my...comrades during the Pooka and Fearling wars."

"What is it? Is she going to be okay?" Jack demanded.

His heart plummeted and promptly shattered on impact when Bunny's ears flattened and he shook his head, murmuring quietly, "No, Jackie, she's not." and Tooth began to cry.

Jack hardly noticed when he dropped to his knees. He just felt weak. Lifa? Not okay? She was the strongest person he knew. It just didn't compute. Tooth knelt down next to him, and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, shushing him quietly, and stroking his pristine white hair. Jack shook his head, muttering, "No, no you're wrong, it's impossible, Lifa c-can't...not my Sunshine, no, no, _no NO..."_

Bunny turned away, and left the room, for three reasons. One, he needed to tell North. Two, they needed Sandy. And three...

He couldn't stand seeing Jack with his heart smashed into dust.

* * *

**A/N hehehe, Yes, I am cruel enough to leave you guys hanging here. What has Deimos precisely done to Lifa? I shan't tell you all yet...I gave you all some comedy of Jack getting pissed at Bunny.**

**And dare I say...could this be...PLOT DEVELOPMENT?!**

**Also, I had an AU idea for Jack and Lifa. Tangled style! Lifa is basically Rapunzel, same hair deal, but her eyes also glow. A sixteen-to-be-year-old girl who is kept in her tower in a dark, secluded cavern like place in the wilderness by who she believes to be her true father, Pitchiner Black. Jack is an outcast to the kingdom of Berk, who steals for a living and grew up as an orphan on the streets with very little memory of who his family was, and how he came to be an orphan and how he lost his memory. Hiccup and Astrid are the king and queen in this story, Lifa's parents, of course. Yes, there are the lanterns, and Lifa wants to see them, but she also wants to explore the entire world more than anything. On her sixteenth birthday, eighteen year old Jack climbs her tower to escape from kingdom police forces trying to bring him in for execution and the robbery of the head circlet meant for the stolen princess. Lifa's animal friend? ****Quite possibly could be a bunny...hehe...or maybe Sandy as a little golden bird friend. Or Tooth, as her hummingbird buddy.**

**Or it could be the opposite, and instead of the sun, it could be a drop of moonlight and Jack is a missing prince and Lifa is a criminal who takes Jack (who has no street-smart skills) to see the outside world. **

**I like this AU. I might actually write it. I really want to draw a Lifa with 75 foot long hair and cute little fluffy Bunnymund as her best friend. Or a fat little bird version of Sandy!**

**Whaddya guys think?**

**Adios, amigos!**


	30. Chapter 30

**This chapter is dedicated to Katyuana, who is having angsty Frostburn feelings. Also, because she deserves a chapter for being my most constant reviewer. Here ya go, mate.**

* * *

"Jack."

Nothing.

"Jack, You need to talk to _someone. _This...this isn't healthy." Bunny placed his paw on Jack's arm. "Come on. Jackie...?"

Not so much as a blink.

Two days ago, Bunny had told Jack the gravity of Lifa's...situation. How she'll either die, go mad or become a Fearling. And those were the turnouts if she kept on fighting the darkness Deimos had poisoned her mind with. If she didn't fight back, it would just take over and she'd become a mindless killing machine to Deimos's will.

And then, of course, he could kill her at any second.

Bunny could have been gentler, telling everyone this, but he'd needed to be fast and thorough in explaining so that could take action. Bunny could remember Fearlings infecting other Pooka's who had fought beside him. Just a scratch from their claws, and the darkness was inside you. E. Aster Bunnymund had, unfortunately, been a healer and a sorcerer at the same. That was a one-way ticket to caring for these victims. He watched them be torn apart _from the inside, _go completely insane, and become Fearlings themselves, in which case Bunny or some other poor doctor had to kill them. "The good of the many outweighs the good of the one" was the saying they'd adopted during those hellish days.

He himself had been infected, too. Just a small scratch on his forearm, and he'd nearly lost himself completely. The scratch itself as about as serious as a pinprick, but from the claws of a Fearling, it was as devastating as dropping on top of a grenade three seconds before it exploded. The only reason he'd survived, one of the eight who did, was because of his son.

He'd had too much rooting him in the world to let the darkness destroy him. The case had been the same for the other seven. Sons, daughters, siblings...Flesh and blood was the closest thing they had to keeping them alive. No one could explain why. But Lifa didn't have that, like they had. She wasn't a mother, not a sister...Her flesh and blood was gone. And the eight Pooka's who'd survived their ordeal were eight out of eighty thousand.

Bunny had forced himself to except that 2% chance of survival she'd had was gone. And he'd told Jack that, too.

In result, Jack had plunked himself down in a chair at Lifa's bedside, and hadn't moved for two days. Never slept, didn't eat or drink anything, and no one could get him to talk. This was expected, if he'd honestly really cared about her. And that was just the beginnings of love, being shot down so early. It was just as painful if they'd been together for years. But falling asleep hugging each other after an ordeal like Lifa's didn't necessarily count as "officially together".

But no, Jack cringed every time Lifa cried out in pain. Sandy did his best to quell the fears the darkness brought to life in her mind, and he succeeded. But there was nothing they could do about the physical pain. Every whimper, keen and cry she made in her sleep made Jack more and more tense and upset.

But the worst part was the fact he hadn't touch his staff in two days. No, instead he kept something else in his hands. Turning it over constantly, memorizing every mark on it...The Easter Egg carving Lifa had made him, what seemed like a million years ago. Jack had initially tried holding her hand, but physical contact could infect him, too. So he'd settled for the present instead.

"Jack, _please. _You're just hurting yourself. This isn't doing anyone good."

"I promised."

Bunny blinked, and stepped back. For moment, he didn't realize it was Jack who had spoken. His voice was hoarse, almost tinny sounding, and cracked in the middle of "promised".

"Promised what?" Bunny knelt back down beside him. Jack tensed, and his hands froze for a second, being still for the first time in hours. Bunny glanced at the carving cradled in his fingers, then back up at Jack's face.

"Th-that she wouldn't h-ha-have to b-be alone a-an-anymore." Jack quaked.

Ouch. Bunny winced. So he was trying to a keep a promise. "Alright, Snowflake. Ya don't have t'leave. But ya need t'go and get some sleep."

Jack shook his head, and mumbled, "No, _no, I can't..."_

"You won't be breaking your promise. Come on, off ya pop." Bunny didn't bother waiting for Jack's response. Scooping him up off the chair by sliding one arm under Jack's knees and the other behind his shoulders, Bunny carried him across the room.

"No! Bunny, put me down! _Damn it, kangaroo!" _Jack thrashed weakly, and cursed at Bunny nonstop, but it didn't do him any good. He was just too tired to actually fight back. To Bunny, it was about as effective as a fruit fly trying to push him over.

"You're still in the same room with her, Jack. And you know Lifa wouldn't want you killing yourself over this."

Bunny was right. Sunshine would belt him in the face and call him an arse for tormenting himself like this. Jack stopped fighting long enough for Bunny to tuck him into an extra bed in the infirmary. Bunny stroked Jack's hair back out of his eyes, murmuring, "I know it hurts, Jackie. But we're trying to figure it out. It ain't gonna last forever."

_Nothing ever does, _Jack reflected bitterly before falling unwillingly asleep.

* * *

"How is he?" North asked as Bunny left the infirmary. Bunny shook his head.

"He's depressed, to say the least." he confirmed. North's face fell. Bunny rubbed his green eyes tiredly, "Let's try to cheer him up. Somehow...something to distract him."

"Well, I asked Jack some months ago to make a Christmas wish list." North mused, "I could do something with that. Meanwhile, you can seek out Deimos and Lifa's recovery."

"If you really think that'll help him, North, give him an entire early Christmas holiday. And don't tell him I'm doin' that. If it fails, he'll just feel worse."

North nodded in understanding, "Yes. I will see what I can do for Jack."

"I trust ya, North." Bunny clapped North on the shoulder as he walked past him. "Take good care of Snowflake for me."

* * *

North had more trouble figuring out how to cheer up Jack than he thought he would. Considering the boy had asked for only three things for Christmas...A snowboard because the one Jamie had lent him as too small, and had recently been broken in half due to teenage recklessness, some new books, and for MiM knows what reason, a violin.

Why would he ask for a violin? Did Jack even know how to play an instrument?

Well, such a strange request would, essentially, have an excellent reason. And crafting a wooden instrument in the workshop would be no problem at all. And getting him a few books would be easy. Grabbing a couple from the mile-wide library they had there in Santoff Clausen would suffice.

North called in a few Yeti's. Time to cheer up Jack.

* * *

Lifa forced her eyes open. _Ow, ow, ow..._

Wait, were her eyes actually open? It was still dark. Lifa blinked several times. No, they were definitely open...She was just blind.

Alright, technically, she was not. There was just so much darkness trying to dominate that it'd filled her head up like a jar, therefore blocking her vision. Blindfolding her from the inside. Concentrating and blinking, her vision cleared. Fuzzy, with all colors muted and dull._  
_

Clarity. It was a good word for it how she was feeling. She was incredibly acute to everything that was happening. Her senses are on overdrive. No, hearing was muffled, like her head was wrapped in cotton. But her physical touch sense was through the roof in sensitivity. Her clothes, the blanket, every little brush against anything send pain and fire shooting through her skin.

Her throat felt tight and constricted, making it hard to breathe. Everything was too hot. It hadn't been before, before it had been cold, and soothing. She just wanted to cry out, make some noise, to break the silence. She only made it as far as a high-pitched keen that died quickly. Even that exhausted her. Pain, fire, exhaustion, darkness, smothering...A couple of dull words floated around her thoughts. How pathetic. She was a master of words and languages, and she could only come up with those to describe this? Then again, it was pretty indescribable.

Lifa felt unbearably alone. Closing her eyes, she drifted back on the edge of oblivion. Being awake was too difficult, but she didn't want to fall asleep.

She was afraid she'd never wake up again.

* * *

Jack blinked blearily. Something woke him up. A quiet sound, almost indistinguishable. But he knew what it was. Immediately, he sat bolt upright and was on high alert. But Lifa was already laying still once again, silent. No, not still. Her fingers twitched and tensed, clenching against the fabric. Jack got to his feet, and took a few groggy steps forward.

He tripped over a two boxes on the floor. "What the-!"

Barely catching himself, he turned around grumpily. One long rectangular box in dark blue wrapping, and silver ribbon, another pale blue smaller, square box with a white bow on it that made Jack think of a snowflake. Both were labeled with a card.

_"For Jack, from North- Hope this cheers you up" _

Cheer him up?

Despite how pessimistic he was feeling, Jack knelt down and unwrapped the presents. First, the square one.

A stack of books. All the next books in that wonderful series Lifa had introduced him to, Harry Potter. From the Prisoner of Azkaban to the Deathly Hallows. Since Lifa had taught him to read, (another story, not for now) he'd been trying to read as many books he could possibly cram into his schedule.

Next box. He tore the wrapping open, glad for the sound to break the silence, and to distract him. Inside, of all things, was a violin case.

"You gotta be kidding me," Jack muttered. Undoing the latches, he opened the case. Yep, there it was. A 4/4 sized wooden violin, scroll, pegs, bow, a bar of rosin, even a mute to clip onto the bridge. _G string, D string, A string, E string..._He thought automatically, remembering each one.**  
**

And then he clipped the case shut again. He hadn't taken up a violin and played it in over three hundred years. Maybe he'd play it for Lifa, later.

Picking up The Prisoner of Azkaban, he plunked down in his usual spot in the chair next to her. He smiled when he saw her eyes were open, and felt an unwelcome pang in his chest to see the once-beautiful gold irises streaked with a dirty, ash color.

"Sunshine?"

"Uhmmm..." she hummed quietly in response, trying to sit up. Jack shook his head frantically, and she got the message, laying back down. They sat in silence for a long time, and Jack picked at the pages of the book. Finally, Lifa asked in her hoarse, strangled voice, "Read to me?"

"Huh?" he looked up, then back down at the book, "Oh! Yeah, s-sure..."

Lifa smiled. _Dork._

Jack smiled back, and opened to chapter one. If she was awake, maybe, just maybe, she'd be okay? Lifa curled up on her side, resting her face in her hand, and watched Jack as he began to read aloud.

_"Harry Potter was a highly unusual boy in many ways. For one thing, he hated the summer holidays more than any other time of year. For another, he really wanted to do his homework but was forced to do it in secret, in the dead of night. And he also happened to be a wizard..." _

* * *

"...Deciding that he'd worry about the Hogsmeade form when he woke up, Harry got back into bed and reached up to cross off another day on the chart he'd made for himself, counting down the days left until his return to Hogwarts. Then he took off his glasses and lay down; eyes open, facing his three birthday cards. Extremely unusual though he was, at that moment Harry Potter felt just like everyone else — glad, for the first time in his life, that it was his birthday." Jack finished. Chapter one over. He looked back over at Lifa, and she was still smiling, however tired it was.

"Jack?"

"Hm?"

"North g-ga..gave you a...violin?" her eyes fluttered closed, again.

Jack nodded, "I'll play for you tomorrow. Just promise you'll get better, okay?"

Jack looked down when he felt something touch his hand. Lifa had hooked her little finger around his. "Promise," she mumbled, before falling asleep. Jack held onto her hand. _  
_

He'd never pictured himself sitting at someone's bedside. He'd always been the one in the bed. Jack remembered when he was twelve, he'd fallen ill with a fever and hadn't been able to even get up. His mother didn't go to work that entire week. She'd stayed beside him, no matter how many times he'd tell her he was fine, and she could go back to the clothing shop where she worked as a seamstress. But she always outright told him no, so he'd given up on the first two days. And then there were the nightmares that came when the fever rose and made him delirious. They only ever went away when she sang to him. Emma would curl up at his side until he fell back asleep.

When did his life become a nightmare itself?

"Hey, Sunshine, did I ever tell you about my human life, before I saved me sister?" he began. "I had a mother, too. She used to sing to us a lot, when we were sick in bed. Y'know, like you are now...I tried singing to Emma once when Momma wasn't home, but she said I was a terrible singer. I was, actually...tone deaf. Emma made a rule that I could only clap and hum." he chuckled. "No one backed me up in that argument."

_She can't even hear me, _he thought darkly. Before he knew it, he was humming, more to comfort himself than her. He'd forgotten this song, until he'd adopted Lifa's nickname. He could remember, Emma singing it cheerily while they walked home from Sunday School, while he carried her in his shoulders.

_You are my sunshine, my only sunshine..._

_You made me happy when skies are gray_

_You'll never know, dear_

_How much I love you_

_Please don't take_

_My sunshine away..._

* * *

Bunny climbed out of his tunnel, and stood on the black, sodden earth of Outcast Island once again. He hated it here. Every plant that was there was dead, or dying. It was cloudy, and dark, the air heavy with the prospect of yet another storm. And the smell was a whole other thing. Sour, low tide smell, wafting up from the beach half a mile away. Disgusting.

Two gods of fear and terror would be perfectly at home here.

Bunny hopped on all fours, treading carefully. The ground was littered with prints of what could be closely described as...velociraptors? He wished Jack hadn't made him watch every single Jurassic Park movie with him last year.

"Aster, how nice to see you!"

Bunny spun around to see a...boy? Hardly older than Jack. Wearing a long, tweed black trench coat, black slacks, black shoes, black leather gloves, almost white skin, silver eyes and thick raven black hair. _Black, black, black._

"I am Deimos, son of Ares, god of Terror." he smiled, revealing unnaturally long canine teeth. Not vampire material, but certainly eerie enough. "I decided to come and welcome you properly, rather than leave you to wander around like a fool."

Bunny simply glowered at him.

Deimos waved his hand as if to shoo away a pest, "I know, I know. Our precious little golden eyed girl. You came to ask me to help her."

"Yes," Bunny spat through gritted teeth. It was taking everything inside him not to tear Deimos apart on the spot.

"Well, I would, if there was anything to benefit me," he drawled, far too calm and stoic than Bunny would have liked him to be. "But I'm willing to make a suggestion of my own."

"I'm listenin'."

"Wonderful! I'll give it to you straight," Deimos smiled wider, and Bunny shuddered involuntarily, "I will cleanse Lifa's mind in exchange for someone else."

"I beg yer pardon?" Bunny stiffened. "Who do ya want?"

Deimos' smile vanished and his silver eyes narrowed. "A pest that has been ailing us all for far too long." he paced back and forth for a moment. Bunny tapped his foot impatiently, reaching for an egg grenade. Maybe...

Deimos suddenly stopped and looked directly at Bunny, his next words making Bunny's blood run cold.

"I want Jack Frost."


	31. Deviantart and Tangled AU

**I got a deviant art now, ( xkeyblademasterx1221 ) so lots of drawings are soon to come. Yaaaaay.**

**Also, Tangled AU is coming soon. **

**E. Aster Bunnymund- Painter who lives with his wife and son two blocks up the street from the Overland Orphanage. His wife and son later pass away from a fever when he's away trading paintings. He then joins the Palace Guard. Becomes Leader of the Palace Guards, takes Maximus's place in the story. He's sent to capture a thief, and is separated from the rest of the patrol. Finding the thief, he doesn't expect the criminal to be a child he used to bring back to the Overland Orphanage some years before, and another teenager with him/her.(alternate could be Lifa is in the orphanage instead) He helps the kids instead, and deemed a criminal and a traitor for doing so.**

**Jack Frost Overland- Jack is a boy who lives in the orphanage, and is constantly running away. In turn, it means he's dubbed a bad kid and no one adopts him. However, he's always convinced by Aster Bunnymund to go back to the orphanage, because he's safer there. Aster more than once hides Jack from authorities looking for him. Jack is friends with his son, somewhat. However, in an escape from the orphanage, he's taken by two crime lords and forced to become a professional thief and pick pocket. If he tries to escape them, (happened on some occasions) they beat him up pretty bad and threaten his life. Aster never sees Jack after he's taken into this "career" and thinks he's a missing child. However, no one will look for an orphan. Jack is forced into stealing the crown, and is double crossed. Taking the crown with him, he hides in Rapunzel's tower. Thus, the story goes from there. Crime lords try to track him down to kill him, and Aster is sent to track down the criminal he doesn't know is Jack.**

**Jack Frost (alternate character)- A drop of moonlight fell to earth, and created a silver and white flower that could heal the sick, old and injured. The queen is sick, gets healed, baby boy, a prince, with silvery white hair is born, and stolen from his family, and raised by someone else who wants the power for their own.**

**Pitchiner Black- A man who is outlawed for practicing dark magic in attempt to bring his dead daughter back to life. The magic corrupts him, and he uses the flower to stay alive for centuries. When the flower is taken to heal the queen, he steals the child, and raises him/her as their own. He also doesn't want anyone else to have the power, because he found it too late and couldn't use it to save his daughter, therefore he wants no one else to have that chance to use the power to save anyone. **

**Lifa- A drop of moonlight fell to earth, same deal as Rapunzel. Golden hair, turns brown when cut, she's taken by Pitch and raised to believe he's her father. Probably hits Jack with a book, fireplace poker or still a frying pan, for the sake of my general love for Tangled. Let me know what else you come up which. FYI, in the concept art, Rapunzel had a crossbow instead. **

**Lifa (alternate character)- Raised in the orphanage, she's constantly running away and getting into fights. Having the tendency to dress like a boy, and go out on her own on the streets, she's considered a terrible child and no one wants to adopt her. She becomes a professional criminal, and Aster used to bring her back to the orphanage, and try to talk her into behaving better. However, nothing ever stuck. Finally, she becomes a master thief. Ends up being hit in the head by Jack's staff when she hides in his tower. The staff is actually used to prop windows open, and something Jack asked Pitchiner for, because Jack had read a book about a wizard who had such a thing, and wanted one of his own, or something like that. Lifa insists on calling it a stick. (Sticks! Who knew, right?)**

**Sandy- a fat, golden yellow little bird who has trouble flying, (cuz he's round and chubby hehe) and perches on Jack/or/Lifa's shoulder all the time. Cutest little thing ever, gives good advice (if you understand cheeps and tweets) And likes to snooze in the tower-occupant's hair, and snooze in general. Suggest other animals for him! Like a fat gerbil. I had one...cutest thing ever.**

**Tooth- A hummingbird friend who has a strange fetish for teeth. Maybe because she doesn't have any? Sweet and motherly to the tower-occupant. **

**Toothiana (alternate character)- Queen of the Kingdom, mother of the tower-occupant, or the nanny of the tower occupants little sister/brother. Yes, Emma or Lifa's little bro. (little bro's name still to be decided. Could be Stoic, named after his grand father)**

**Hiccup and Astrid- King and Queen, Lifa's parents. Still deciding on details.**

**Yes, the story will change a bit from Tangled, but it is a Rapunzel-tower story. Tell me what you think, but I'm incredibly enthusiastic about this. I came up with it after that head-cannon I had about Lifa creating the flower, and having a hand in Rapunzel and Flynn's fates.**

**PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW THIS AND TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK.**


	32. Chapter 32

**A/N Guess what, mates? Pitch is coming back into the story soon! I couldn't just leave him hanging there, presumed to be dying and locked up. Nah, he needs attention and deeper characterization. So for all your Pitch-lovers out there, PITCH SHALL HAVE JUSTICE.**

**(alright, not exactly like that but shhh, spoilers) **

* * *

_"Wonderful! I'll give it to you straight," Deimos smiled wider, and Bunny shuddered involuntarily, "I will cleanse Lifa's mind in exchange for someone else."_

_"I beg yer pardon?" Bunny stiffened. "Who do ya want?"_

_Deimos' smile vanished and his silver eyes narrowed. "A pest that has been ailing us all for far too long." he paced back and forth for a moment. Bunny tapped his foot impatiently, reaching for an egg grenade. Maybe..._

_Deimos suddenly stopped and looked directly at Bunny, his next words making Bunny's blood run cold._

_"I want Jack Frost."_

* * *

Bunny's world had gone silent. Everything moved in slow motion, if anything moved at all. Deimos' lips curled into that leering smile once more and Bunny wanted nothing more than to shove his head clean through a tree trunk. He began to see red, and from a distinct prickling in his skin, he knew his fur was bristling on end, making him looked twice his actual size, and far more intimidating. Deimos didn't give a damn.

"Come now, Aster. Did you really believe that there wouldn't be a price?" Deimos sneered. "Frost's power is nowhere near its full potential. I prefer to snuff him out before I even begin to move forward. Unlike that fool Pitch, I like to polish the board and straighten up the coffee table before I start a nice long game of chess."

"You're not putting one damn _finger _on my Snowflake." Bunny managed to get out.

"Oh, please, I don't plan on doing to him what Pitch Black had done," Deimos sighed, "I intend on locking him up someplace very dark, and very far away from even the smallest sliver of light. He won't die. Perhaps I'll release him, after I'm finished with my changes in this world..."

"Forget about it! There is no wa-"

Deimos cut him off, "Lifa dies."

Bunny immediately shut up. _Wait, stop. No._

"Precious little Sunshine is going to be eaten alive by darkness, and Jack will watch!" Deimos crowed, "He'll see her choke on her own blood, the light fade from those gold eyes he loves so much, and her body go cold, cold in a way not even he could care for! The first girl he'd ever been able to have _feelings of love _for and she'll be taken away from him! Do you honestly believe he wouldn't willingly give himself up for her?"

"_STOP IT!" _Bunny roared. He didn't attack. He didn't dare. That would just give Deimos a reason to kill Lifa now. "Please, just...they're children. I'll...I'll keep Jack's powers at bay!" he blurted out.

Deimos' smirk faltered, and his eyebrows rose in the slightest, intrigued.

Bunny took it as a sign to go on, "I'll even use magic. I'll put a seal on his staff, to limit him! Just help Sunny, and I'll do it." _I'm sorry, Jackie. There just aren't any more options._

"Hm...not quite what I was aiming for...but it I can work with it. Very well. That pitiful excuse for a queen will live. I'll call the darkness back tonight."

Bunny nearly collapsed with relief, but thankfully, stayed on his feet.

Shadows swirled and curled around Deimos's feet. "I'm glad we made this deal, Aster. I assume it goes without saying what I promise I'll do if you break it."

Bunny nodded, "Likewise."

He watched as the shadows morphed, and swallowed up Deimos. Just like that, the God of Terror was gone. Bunny walked slowly, shuffling his feet forlornly. He'd just made a deal over Jack without even asking the kid's approval. But what could he have done? Bunnymund knew beings like Deimos. They ask for something, and that's all you can give. Bunny would have offered himself, but he knew Deimos wouldn't have it. People did give Bunny a lot of credit to how smart he actually was. In a way, he was as much of a genius as Lifa was. And over their centuries of being mutual friends, he'd picked up a thing or two of "deductive reasoning" skills, as Lifa called them.

Well, he'd deduced Deimos was either perfectly sane and incredibly evil, or completely mad and was aware of it and proud of it (and still incredibly evil), and then he'd acted on what was best to do. But he'd saved Lifa, and that had to be worth it.

Jumping down in the tunnel he'd come through before, his dread and anxiety grew. Bunny hated being alone with his thoughts, because now he had to face them.

What the hell was he going to tell Jack?

* * *

North and Tooth were both standing outside the infirmary, mouths agape in perfect O shapes, and looking perfectly stunned, when Bunny got back.

"What's up with you lot...?" Bunny began, but then stopped.

That's when he heard it. Tooth gave him a watery smile, as if to say, _It's beautiful, right? _Whereas, North looked downright shocked and, excuse the pun, wonder struck. Bunny didn't realize what the sound was, so he pushed his way past Tooth and North and peeked through the door. What he saw just made him more surprised.

Lifa was sitting up, propped up by several pillows, obviously not having the strength or endurance to hold herself upright. She looked exhausted, but was smiling. And Jack was standing by the bed, in the straightest form of posture Bunny had ever seen him in. All the time, Jack was usually slouching against his staff, or leaning his weight to one foot. And what surprised Bunnymund the most was the violin Jack had tucked under his chin.

The bow was held in his right hand, and his wrist and fingers flowed smoothly as it was pushed back and forth over the strings. His left hand cradled the neck of the violin, fingering each note and drawing out the vibrato beautifully. Bunny didn't recognize the song at first, but then he remembered it from a movie Lifa utterly adored, and that he'd caught her sneaking into a theater some years ago to watch. He knew Jack had never seen the movie, but he must have learned the song for her.

_One Summer's Day _from _Spirited Away. _

How did the kid learn to play the violin so well? As far as Bunny knew, the kid was musically untalented, as Lifa had informed him when telling him the story of trying to teach him piano. But Jack was giving her a private concert, right there in the infirmary.

Bunny clicked the door shut again, muffling the music. _I can tell him later, _Bunny decided.

"I convinced Deimos to let her live," he turned to Tooth and North, speaking low and quiet. "He said...he said she'd be healed by mornin'. But I had to make a deal."

"What sort of deal?" North frowned.

"He asked for Jack in exchange, but I said no, and suggested somethin' else. I said I would use some magic, and put a limit on Jack's powers." Bunny muttered. Before North and Tooth could explode, he added, "I didn't have a choice! And Jack isn't helpless without his powers, he's an archer and swordsman in the makin'. And his powers won't be completely gone!"

"Bunny...Bunny, how could you do something like that?!" Tooth flew back and forth in what could be considered pacing angrily, in flight.

North stroked his beard thoughtfully, "No, he is right, Toothy. If that was the only way, Bunny saved Jack as well. And Jack is a very good swordsman, and he's only learned how to use a sword for three days. With some more practice..."

"He could hold his own just with a blade." Bunny finished. "That's what I thought. Tooth, I feel horrible offering the kid up like that but it was either that, or let him be taken away from us. A-and I couldn't...go through having that happen...again."

Bunny rubbed his eyes anxiously, trying to keep calm. Tooth put her hand on his shoulder, her anger diminishing. "You did a good job, Bunny. You saved both of them. And Jack...I think he really cares about her. He won't be angry with you."

North nodded and clapped Bunny on the back, "This is good thing! Now we can prepare ourselves for the Fearlings, knowing both of them are safe and sound."

Bunny smiled a little, feeling relieved, even just a little. "Go prepare, then. I'll stay here. I need to talk to Frostbite."

North nodded, and immediately left down the hall, giving orders to Yeti's and shooing elves out of the way. He wasn't going to waste time. But Tooth lingered, wringing her hands.

"What's wrong?" Bunny asked.

"Nothing." she answered, "I'm just...relieved."

"Alright, then- AH!"

Bunny staggered back when Tooth full on tackled him in a hug. Completely unexpected. Why was she...?

Oh. Right. Bunny remembered Tooth and Lifa's relationship, before her memories were erased. Tooth treated Lifa like a little sister, or maybe a daughter. Maybe Tooth was afraid that was gone, even though her memories had returned. Bunny patted her back awkwardly. "S'okay, Tooth. She's fine. Really."

Tooth let go of Bunny, wiping her eyes. "I don't think she remembers me," she confessed. "I-If she had...she would've asked me to stay with her. Like...like when she'd been sick."

"They might not all have returned. And she's more than confused. Give it some time." Bunny reassured her. Tooth just shook her head, and let out a shaky breath that she had been holding. With that, she turned and flew down the hallway as fast as she could, indoors.

Bunny turned around, trying to shake off the unwanted anxiety that Tooth's words had left behind. The violin music at stopped and he could hear the soft clunk of wood. Stepping into the room silently, he could see Jack handing the violin to Lifa, the frog of the bow clunking against the instrument as he did.

"Hold it like a guitar," he was saying, "Just pluck the strings, okay? Do you know any songs?"

Lifa frowned, thinking. Her hands moved sluggishly, fingers curling around the neck of the violin, and other hand resting against it's side. "Umm...Lon...Londoner..."

"Londonerry Air?" Jack finished for her. When he nodded, he smiled. "That was one of my Mom's favorites." he said, plunking down in the chair next to the bed. Lifa plucked out each note, trying her best to remember. Her thoughts were jumbled. _First note...C sharp...then D. Then E flat, two beats...No, E natural! What?_

"E natural is a quarter note," Jack explained softly, "Then F sharp. F sharp is the half note."

But it didn't make a difference to her. Finally, Jack took the violin from her, packed it up and removed two pillows from behind her shoulders, letting her lay down again. "Go back to sleep," he told her. After a few minutes, she was asleep again, and Jack was silent, and back to tapping his fingers nervously against the wood of his staff.

Bunny had absolutely no idea what a quarter note and half note was. It was like that had a secret language going on. _Musicians must have some sort of special communication code or somethin'_, Bunny reflected.

"Jack." Bunny finally spoke up. Jack jumped in his seat, and turned around. Bunny waved him over, "I have some good news."

Jack immediately hopped up out of his seat and skidded to a stop in front of Bunny. Bunny took a deep breath, "I convinced Deimos to drain the darkness inside Lifa way. She'll be right as rain in the morning."

Bunny smiled at the expression on Jack's face. Shock, disbelief, hope, joy. He memorized that look, because he was afraid of the next one he would have to see. "But I had to make a deal for it. He asked for you, to be turned over. I told him no, and tried to compromise."

Jack's brow creased, "Okay...but...what was the compromise...?"

Bunny glanced to the side, and then looked back at him. "Do you trust me?"

"Of course I do!"

"Good. You're going to need to give me your staff."

Jack took a step back, and clutched the wooden relic against his chest. "Wh-what? Are you going to...to give it to Deimos?!"

"No! No. It's staying right here with you," Bunny amended. "I just need to do a little spell. A seal. It'll take just a few minutes, and you can have it back, alright?"

Jack didn't like this. He'd been even more attached to his staff than before, since the abuse and torture it'd received from Pitch. But Bunny had made a deal, to keep him here and heal Lifa. Whatever Bunny was going to do...It didn't matter. Jack trusted him completely. "Okay. Be gentle with it." he said, handing it to Bunny.

As soon as it fell into Bunny's paw, Jack felt out of place. Anyone else holding his staff just felt wrong. But it was even worse when Bunny reached over to the sheath he kept strapped to his back that held his boomerangs and egg grenades, and took a small, carving knife from it. The guilty look on his face deepened.

Jack immediately lunged forward and seized his arm, "NO! Bunny, you can't cut it, please-"

"I'm sorry, Jackie."

And with that, Bunny pushed Jack of, and dug the point of the knife into the staff. Jack immediately doubled over, on his knees in a second. He could feel every stroke of the blade, carving an intricate symbol into the wood. He thought he'd gone deaf, that the world was silent. But sometimes, silence can be confused with your whole world being full of a single, solitary noise. He felt his body hit the floor with a muffled thud, and his vision clouded, spun, and tinted red. Darkness swam at the edges of his vision, and finally, finally took over, and he didn't think or feel or remember anything.

It felt like he didn't remember anything for a very, _very _long time.

* * *

"Jack! JACK! It's over, the spell's done. JACK!"

Bunny gathered Jack in his arms, and slapped his face, "Wake up!"

_No no no no,what have I done?!_

Jack had begun screaming bloody murder as soon as Bunny had begun making the seal on the staff. He'd collapsed on the floor, shrieking and yelling non-stop, until his body finally gave out and he was unconscious. That was when Bunny had finished the spell. And now the teenager wouldn't come to.

Lifa had been woken up, and extremely confused, and being as she was unable to move, was clutching her dragon stuffed animal close to her, with her face hidden in it's wings, and only dared to look up when Jack was silent. Her golden eyes seemed...cleaner now.

"Jack, _please." _Bunny begged._  
_

Jack moaned and squirmed in discomfort. But then his cerulean blue eyes fluttered open. Bunny immediately began babbling, "You're awake, Thank the Man in the Moon, I'm so sorry, I didn't know it would hurt but I had to finish the spell or it could've been worse and I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sor..."

Jack didn't respond. Blood was staining the back of his hoody.

If anyone cared to look under it, they would find a symbol identical to the one on his staff, gouged into his back between his shoulder blades.

Tooth burst into the room, "What's happening?!" she demanded. What she found was Bunny on the floor, cradling an seemingly in shock Jack, mumbling "I'm sorry," to him nonstop and Lifa looking completely terrified.

Tooth frowned, then flitted over to Bunny, and shook his arm. "Bunny, he's going to be okay. Go tuck him into bed." she ordered. Bunny blinked several times, then muttered, "Yeah. 'Kay." and did as he was told.

Tooth then went straight over to Lifa, and made her lay back down. "Everything is okay, sweet heart. Jack is fine. Go back to sleep, alright?"

She turned around to make sure Bunny was alright, but was pulled back as Lifa grabbed her hand. Tooth turned back, and it sent a pang through her chest at Lifa's facial expression. Fear, worry, shock, confusion...

"Alright, alright," Tooth sat down on the edge of the bed, and ran her hand over Lifa's thick, deep copper hair. "I'll stay. Just go to sleep, you'll be alright in the morning..." she cooed softly.

"Whatever you say, Mum."

Tooth stared in shock as Lifa fell asleep again. _She remembers. _

No, it was a mistake. She'd just been confused, delirious and mistaken Tooth for her mother. But even so, Tooth's fingers continued combing through Lifa's hair, undoing the tangles. She glanced over at Bunny, he was pacing back and forth, muttering in some language she didn't understand. But she knew it was a form of Pooka dialect, an early ancestor of the Celtic language. An agitated Pooka, bed ridden Winter Spirit, and a soon-to-be wreaking havoc girl who was essentially a goddess, of the sun.

Tooth certainly had a lot to handle while North and Sandy were getting them ready for war.

* * *

**A/N Ehhh I didn't know how to end this chapter I'll just stop here dfhglsdgs**

**So, I decided to start writing in Lifa's connections to the other Guardian's. Best friends with Sandy, a war buddy with Bunny, almost like a daughter to Tooth, and a well respected work colleague for North. She used to help in the workshop, and even repaired the sleigh a few times, since she's a gear head. Considering she's a viking and has been able to hold her liquor since she was age thirteen, they could be drinking pals, even. **

**But yes, she and Tooth were actually very close. When Lifa felt abandoned by Pitch, she had no one and then Tooth stepped in. I like to think Tooth may have been human once, and had a daughter, and sees a lot of her daughter in Lifa. And Tooth is bad ass and says exactly what she wants and is also a little bossy, like Astrid, in a way. Doesn't put up with anyone's shit, so to speak. **

**Rant over, Auf Weidersehn, Mein Freunde.**


	33. Chapter 33

Lifa jolted awake to the sound of pure chaos. Clashing, banging, Yeti's hollering, jingling elves running around in the distance, shouting, snarls, roars...

Blocking it all out, she sat up, and realized _no pain. _

Lifa threw herself off the bed and raced into the bathroom, grabbing the rim of the sink and scrutinizing her reflection.

Freckles? Check.

Long hair, brown? Check.

Pale? As always.

Gold eyes? Check.

Gold eyes lacking streaks of black? **_CHECK!_**

She yanked a brush through her hair, and whisked it into a French braid to keep it out of the way. Washing her face quickly to wake herself up more, she dashed back outside and dove under her bed. Sure enough, they was right where she'd left them, her sword and quiver. Pulling her quiver over her head, clipping her sword to her belt, and stringing her bow, she looked around the infirmary. Jack was asleep, his face ashen and even paler than it was on a regular basis.

Lifa twisted her fingers in the fringe of her hair that hung in her eyes, looking down at him. "What've you done to yourself...?"

Without thinking, she reached out and brushed her fingertips against his hair. Then she blinked, and snatched her hand back. _What the hell am I doing that for?!_

Shaking it off, she ran over to the door and twisted the handle. Locked. The sounds of battle grew more hectic. Bunny, damn him, must have locked the door to keep anything from getting inside, and left to try and contain the chaos. Well, there was nothing outside the door, and she and Jack needed to get out. Lifa could hear the Fearlings, and knew they were overpowered.

Running back over to the bed, she shook Jack away. "Jokul!" she hissed, "You need to wake up! Jokul!"

But he didn't respond. Why wasn't he...? Lifa frowned, then realized Jokul wasn't the name he used for himself. She'd instinctively called him that, but now she realized how ill-fit the name was for him. Jokul Frosti was seen as a grumpy old man with a long beard who wreaked icy havoc.

Obviously, that description didn't suit a boy hardly bigger than who was surprisingly compassionate to most, smiled and laughed contagiously, and most definitely did not have a long, wizardy beard. His name was Jack Frost, not Jokul Frosti, and now she needed to break her habit of calling him by the wrong name.

"JACK!" she shouted very close to his ear. "Get your arse outta bed _now!"_

Jack jolted awake, and moaned in pain, sending a pang of guilt through her chest. But even so, she hauled him off the bed, and helped him stand up. "We need to go."

"Staff," he mumbled, stumbling away from her. He wasn't in pain, not anymore. Just light headed and weaker. When he heard wood clatter against the floor, he looked down and realized he'd kicked it on accident. Snatching it back up, he turned around and was shocked to see Lifa backing away from the door, and aiming a kick just below the door knob, sending it swinging open with a bang.

"Why would you do that?" he demanded, walking over and gazing at the bent hinges, and the dent in the wood.

"It was locked." she answered simply.

* * *

**A/N this isn't the end of the chapter, but I need to point out the fact that Lifa can break down doors, and is basically military trained and is as good at fighting and shit like this as Dean Winchester. Hell, half her character traits come from him...One of which is willing to sacrifice everything for something important to her.**

**Shit, I'm foreshadowing too much?**

* * *

Jack and Lifa burst outside. Lifa drew her sword. Fearlings were everywhere, only being held at bay by Yeti's, North, Sandy's magic, Tooth and her fairies and...plants?

Roots and vines and things of the like covered and consumed masses of dark creatures, killing them. But whatever flower or leave sprouted from the weaponized greenery turned black, and wilted to dust.

And in the middle of an intricately drawn circle of what Jack thought to be runes and all kinds of other things, was...Bunny?!

It really was. Every time he moved and stepped on a symbol, or made eye contact, it glowed a shamrock green color and the magic flared to life again. And Bunny's facial expression was dark, too serious and...terrifying, actually. He looked so angry, and hurt and _tired._

Jack stared in shock, and then Lifa took a few steps forward, looking amazed and surprised. "Those are runes...He's using Wicca. Bunny is using magic!" she exclaimed, looking...Proud of him?

"I knew he could but...I didn't think it'd be th-this..._powerful_." Jack stammered. Glancing at Lifa, he nearly took a step back when he saw how grim she was. Then she spoke,

"He can't keep it up forever, though. He's giving power from his own body and soul to fuel it. That's how Wicca works. If he keeps it up, the power won't flow back."

_"Does he know that?!"_

Lifa nodded grimly, drawing her long, golden spatha sword. "Oh, he knows. He just doesn't care. His kind invented Wicca. Let's get them out of there. You get up in the sky, help Tooth and Sandy. I'll stay on the ground with North and Bunny."

"No, I'm going to help Bunny myse-"

Lifa spun around and held the tip of her sword under his chin with such speed, he'd missed her movement because he'd stupidly blinked. She snarled, "You have no experience FIGHTING in a war! Pitch is one thing, but this is another! If you want to survive and not get the rest of us slaughtered, _you will not argue with me. _If you endanger everyone else, I will not hesitate to remove you from the equation, Frost."

Jack glanced down

* * *

at the sword, and swallowed. Then, he raised his gaze back at her, donning a convincingly glare, and spoke through clenched teeth, "Fine."

And just like that, she was darting into the hordes of darkness. All he could see was the slashes of light that he knew to be the blade of her sword taking out Fearlings two at a time. He glared at the ground, pulling his bow off of his quiver and notching an icy arrow. Lifa had just threatened to kill him, for simply questioning orders. Look up the definitions of the following phrases, along the lines of "survival of the fittest" and "commando" and "cold blooded" and you might just find her pretty face there. It hurt. He didn't expect to hurt so much, but it did. He thought she might like him, even a little...but obviously not. She would sacrifice anything if it meant winning the war. Meaning, he wasn't significant enough to her to be useful. Jack shook his head vigorously. He couldn't dwell on his stupid feelings right now. It was just a teenage thing, he'd get over it. Tooth and the fairies needed his help in the skies.

He skyrocketed into the air, at a slower rate than usual. His powers really were limited. His speed as cut by half, it was harder to guide himself through the air and the wind seemed to be resisting him. But even so, he still managed to climb higher in the sky. Aiming his arrow, he loosed it into a hoard of Fearlings barreling towards Tooth, who had gathered her fairies behind her protectively.

That single arrow exploded in ice, and all the Fearlings, coated in the cold magic, smashed into the earth. Tooth looked up in shock and then she cried out in joy, "Jack!"

Jack shot her a quick grin behind shooting past. He couldn't fake being happy at the moment. All he could do was continue firing arrows and slashing his rapier sword through Fearlings as Lifa tried to hold her ground down below.

* * *

They were going to lose, and she knew it. But still, she kept slashing her way through the disgusting beings of darkness she despised so much.

And desperately, she tried to not let them touch her. The mere brush of darkness against her skin sent pain warring through her, and left a burn to mark her behind, a wound that wept blood constantly, and was extremely difficult to staunch.

_On your left, sister._

Lifa slashed to her left not a moment too soon, slicing the arm of a Fearling before it's claws closed around her braid. Glancing upward at the sun that barely shone through the clouds, she thanked the spirit. No, she and the sun were not one being. Two, actually. Lifa was the Sun's ties to the Earth, and the Guardians. The Sun was a woman, and the Moon a man. This had much to play in with the Wicca culture Bunny's kind had created, worshiping the God and Goddess. Man in Moon spoke to the Guardians, but the Sun did not.

It only spoke to Lifa, and called her by one name, and that was always sister. And Lifa liked having conversations with her, but only she could hear the Sun and she didn't want the Guardians thinking she was schizophrenic.

_Sister, Aster is about to fall. His time has run to its end. Be swift!_

"Aye, I hear you," Lifa grunted, backing away from a few Fearlings, and amazingly sheathing her sword. Poising her hands over her head, she did a quick hand spring and vaulted over them. And most shocking of all, halfway in the air, she disappeared. A streak of light charged over head and Lifa rising to her feet again, stumbling. Phew, that took a lot out of her. But she'd cleared her barrier.

Sprinting, she stopped at the edge of the circle. Bunny was on his hands (okay, paws) and knees, trying not to be sick or faint. Lifa draw her sword, and plunged it into the circle, breaking it. "Bunny! Your magic is out, you need to come with me!"

"Hah?" Bunny lifted his head, nose twitching. His vision was too clouded, and all he could make out was gold..Shining, beautiful gold metal. And he recognized a smell, that was difficult to describe. Sometimes, it was like lavender, or primroses. Also smoke, like someone who always cooked with a wood burning stove. "Sunburn?" he questioned groggily.

"The one and only," she confirmed, hauling Bunny to his feet and slinging his arm over her shoulders to support him. "You did great, but we need to retreat. You know it. Make a tunnel, give it all you've got. You get yourself and North and Sandy out of here. Jack, Tooth and I will go back to Tooth Palace."

"Wha...? You're not goin' anywhere on yer ow-"

"Don't argue with me, Aster!" She snapped, "I know what I'm doing, and you know it, too! You'll get a signal from me, a sunbeam, you'll know it when you see it, and we'll rendezvous in Canada. You can sniff us out. Get going!"

Aster nodded once, and using the last of the energy he had, opened a tunnel. Lifa turned and shouted at the top of her lungs, "_WE'RE FALLING BACK! NORTH, SANDY, GO WITH BUNNY! LET'S GET OUTTA HERE!"_

Sandy looked down in shock from his dream cloud and exchanged a look with Tooth. Sandy didn't bother to argue. He was down in an instant, and wrapping his whip around North, dragging him over quickly. He formed a question mark over his head at Lifa.

"Bunny will explain," she responded, "Go! I've got Jack and Tooth."

Before North could protest, he and Bunny were pushed into the tunnel by Sandy, who turned and gave her a serious look. She got the message. Be safe, and don't fuck anything up. Lay low.

And her long time friend was gone. She'd barely spoken a word to him all this time, and now she might not see him for a very, very long time.

Lifa turned to call up to Jack and Tooth, but then she felt something wrap around her arm, yank her into the air and slam her into the ground again. Darkness loomed over head, blocking her connection to sunlight. Just like that, her armor turned to simple light particles, and faded. Her sword, gone. Twisting and writhing, she lashed out like a wild animal, trying to get out of the grip the Fearling's vice-like tail had on her arm, but to no avail. She was defenseless.

Abruptly, it released her arm, and she threw her arms over her head, curling up to protect herself. And then the barbed tail came down like a whip, and she bit her lip until it bled to keep in her screams. It hurt, it hurt so bad, and it burned like nothing she'd ever felt before.

It hurt so much, that for once in her life, Lifa could not fight back.

* * *

Tooth brought a spinning kick against a Fearling's head and sent it careening into Jack's sword. Jack tore his sword out from it's chest, and the fairies swarmed and did their job; Fluttering their wings as hard and fast as they could, and pushing the Fearling back towards Earth.

They made an amazing team.

"Jack, I can't believe I'm saying this, but..." Tooth flew up in front of him, flying in circles and finally stopping, waving her arms a little, "This is _fun!"_

Jack laughed hesitatingly, "You know what, I think you're right." he checked his quiver. Only three arrows left. "Maybe we should-" Jack's voice stopped when he heard it. Shrill, agonized screams. Tooth's orchid purple eyes shot wide with terror. Not for herself.

"No," she whispered, horrified, "No...NO!"

Jack didn't even have time to react before Tooth was hurtling towards the ground, to a swarm of Fearlings, her wings nothing but an almost invisible blur.

As if to mock the fact that Tooth didn't even need to fight, because there was nothing to save, the Fearling scattered, shrieking and cackling in sadistic glee. Tooth's heart nearly stopped when she saw the small, scrawny form curled up on the ground, covered in bloody, burnt gashes, shivering and whimpering in pain.

Tooth landed light on the ground, and gently took Lifa's arms, forcing her to uncurl from her fetal position. Lifa let out a choked shriek of pain at her wounds being jostled, but Tooth didn't pull back. Most of the gashes were centered at her shoulders, back and arms. Her hands were burned from trying to fend off the attacks when she'd been rendered weaponless.

"Shh, shh, it's alright, sweet heart." Tooth cooed, cradling Lifa's head in her lap. The girl squirmed in pain and keened softly like a wounded animal. Tooth stroked her hair gently, "I know, it hurts, but Jack is coming...We'll carry you someplace safe."

She gazed upward for a moment. Jack was having trouble descending without endangering his life, thanks to the seal on his staff. And then, she looked at the Fearlings.

The sheer fury in her eyes kept them away. Turning her attention back to Lifa, she was relieved to see her goldenrod eyes gazing up at her. But it broke her heart to see them welling with tears. Lifa's hand clenched against the ground, and Tooth reached over, and held it, shushing and cooing to her. "You're going to be alright...You were so brave, and fought better than any of us," she smiled, "That's my girl."

Lifa's blood-smeared lips twitched into a weak smile of pride at the sound of that._  
_

She barely heard it when Jack's feet touched the ground. Leaning forward, she pressed a gentle kiss to Lifa's forehead, "You're safe and sound now." she murmured.

_She remembers me. _Tooth thought suddenly, as Jack ran over, demanding what happened and saying they needed to leave, now but Toothiana hardly heard him.

_My little girl knows who I am. _

* * *

**A/N Indeed, I introduced a relationship from Lifa's brief years as a Guardian. She, in fact, lived at the Tooth Palace. Tooth is the one who taught her hand to hand combat! In fact, they even sparred, and Lifa has never won against her adopted mother, even when Tooth didn't use her wings as an advantage. Lifa didn't completely remember her until this brutal attack, and Tooth coming to keep her safe, to scare the Fearlings away, which she most definitely did. (I had to resist having Tooth shout "NOT MY DAUGHTER, YOU BITCH" and go all Mrs. Weasley on them. It was a powerful temptation.)**

**Keep in mind, Lifa is an incredibly courageous and independent person, but an attack like this from an element with nothing but pure hatred for her own, wanting nothing but to hurt her and having the incredibly easy ability to do so is more than enough to shake her. No, she's not gonna die. ****I love my OC way to much for that. (also, didn't want her to look weak _ not her character, she hates looking weak more than anything. one of her flaws, actually.)**

**Who else likes the idea of me throwing Wicca into the story, as a part of Bunny's culture? I know a shitload on it, and actually, I want to learn more. It has an incredible amount of nature in it. And if you all want to know it's small plot decide, look up "muirn beatha dan" and think of Bunny and his wife. And then of Lifa and Jack. hehehe**

**Side note- if any of my readers are Christian/Catholic or anything of the sort and the idea of a Witchcraft religion makes you uncomfortable, please let me know and I'll talk to you. I don't want to make anyone uncomfortable. FYI, Wicca is a religion based off being good to others. If you screw someone over, it triggers the Threefold law. What you did to them comes back at you three times worse. **

**PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW PRETTY PLEASE I NEED THEM TO GET TO THE NEXT CHAPTER. It's been a seriously off week for me, guys. My sister ended up in the hospital two days ago, 4/16/13 seven o clock. She'll be fine but...It was really scary. **

**I just need a lot of support _ just nice things to be said to me. I took some of my frustration out in this chapter...**


	34. Chapter 34

Jack watched as Tooth tried to calm Lifa down. He'd never seen Lifa really, truly terrified but...The Fearlings had been brutal. His gaze drifted over the gashes, and then settled on her left arm. He couldn't stop himself from gasping, "Oh, _God..."_

He hardly knew a thing about the medical field, but the burn damage was so extensive, most of the skin was blackened and charred, and the bone clearly shattered. That wasn't something Lifa could heal. And then it begged the question, _amputation?_

"Jack," Tooth called suddenly. He snapped his attention back to her. Tooth was poking Lifa in the side, checking for broken ribs. "Draw your sword. Cut back the Fearlings, and make a way through for us. Lifa can't fight anymore. We're done."

Jack drew his rapier the second she said so, "On it." he growled.

Even with his half of his powers sealed away, Jack moved with incredible speed and had a surprising amount of strength in his arms. Charging forward, a single slash sent so much ice rippling over the Fearlings, they scattered, hissing and snarling. He could heard the _clak _and chattering of their teeth snapping in rage. Jack lunged again, and to his shock, they retreated.

And the kept going. They were _leaving! _

Jack turned around, "Too-" and stopped, shocked. Tooth was standing up, carrying Lifa. Lifa was small, but Tooth was, too. Tooth had to be stronger than Jack was if she could carry a person. Tooth kept surprising him today, especially the first time he saw her round house kick a Fearling in the head and send it careening backwards an impressive distance. He spoke up again, "Tooth, they're retreating. I don't know why, but they're going away."

"Good." Tooth's wings began beating and she hovered a few inches above the ground. "We're going back to the palace. Can you keep up?"

Jack snorted, "Of course I can!"

Tooth shot him a weary smile, and Jack watched her take off into the sky, still cradling Sunburn in her arms, heading for Asia. Jack jumped off the ground and concentrated as hard as he could to keep up.

He still lagged ten yards behind.

* * *

By the time Jack finally made to the palace, Tooth was calling in fairies to a room she'd set up in the spire for Europe. Each spire in the tower was for the continents. Jack realized Tooth chose Europe because Lifa was from Europe. Jack stood outside the door. He could hear Tooth ordering her fairies around, asking for medical supplies and the like. If Tooth had wanted him in there, she wouldn't have closed the door. (Besides, with all Lifa's injuries, her shirt had been pretty ripped up...So no boys present)

Jack climbed onto the top of the spire's roof, and perched on the shingles, staring out over the view. The Palace floated in the sky, and it reminded him of a movie Jamie had mention once or twice, _Castle in The Sky _and then he'd asked Lifa about it. Lifa had gotten so excited and started babbling about Miyozaki studios and animation until his eyes glazed over. She loved Miyozaki movies. Maybe he'd watch some soon.

But Jack could only wait now, and wonder where Bunny, Sandy and North had gone.

* * *

North and Sandy were basically having an hour long guessing game of Sandy's sand pictures, while North tried to guess what he was saying. Bunny had long gone to sleep, claiming he'd had enough excitement and guessing for one day. Also, he'd collapsed the minute the tunnel had closed, drained from using so much magic. North had to carry the Pooka on his shoulder, and he and Sandy agreed not to tell him. For the sake of his pride, of course.

And those drilling, annoying questions...For instance, how did the Fearlings get into the Pole in the first place? Why had Jack been in so much pain when he'd put the seal on the staff? Was Jack alright? Did he and the girls make it back to the Palace?

Did Lifa remember her adopted, and greatly loved mother, Tooth?

Bunny was only conscious of these thoughts for a few moments, when he felt himself being laid down in his comfortable nest of leaves and grass fluffed up in a hammock woven from vines. It was quite comfortable, actually. Whoever tucked him in there, he gave a brief thank you.

Dear to God and Goddess, he was so tired.

* * *

Jack glanced at the sky. Two hours. He could tell by where the crescent moon was sitting. He'd been there, on the roof, for two hours. It was just burns and cuts. Scrub the skin off that couldn't be saved, apply salve, bandage, and done. That wasn't a long task, was it? Unless...

Lifa was going to lose more than a few layers of skin tonight.

Jack forced the thought out of his mind. No. NO. That would not happen. She was too stubborn to give anything up if she didn't want to.

* * *

_Aster gathered his son in his arms, wrapping his worn, green warrior's jacket around him. The golden thread, medals, and shoulder coverings that had once adorned it had long since been worn or broken off. It's former glory was long gone, too. Only the bright, spring green remained._

_Now it was stained an almost black color as he used it to stop the bleeding from his son's torso. Essie whimpered helplessly, and his nose and ears twitched. Aster tightened the knot he'd made with the sleeves anyway, pulling it tight over the wound. Then he laid Essie back on the floor, cooing to him to calm him down._

_Drawing a circle with some runes in the dirt, Bunny began to summon what little magic he had left inside his core. Wicca ran strong in his blood, and he was one of the few masters of the art. But even so, an impossibly devastating blow had been struck in his soul. Still, he cradled Essie close, and then set him back down in the circle._

_Murmuring in the ancient Gaelic words, the runes glowed a soft, shamrock green. The wound on Essie's chest closed, and sealed. The muscle and tissue was delicate, and slight jostling could tear it apart again. But the physical damage was as repaired as it could possibly be. Bunny nearly went into a coma on the spot, and blinked rapidly, and slapped himself in the face to keep himself awake. Stumbling to his feet, he staggered to the bedroom, and picked up the quilt._

_He didn't dare look at Dahlia as he went by. Wrapping himself and Essie together in the blanket, he curled up with his son cradled against his chest. _

_Aster thought that was the last day he'd ever use magic. How can you ever pull that strength from your soul again? When your muirn beatha dan has been torn away from your life?_

Bunny woke with a start, stiff as a board. "ESS-" he began to shout but stopped. Just a memory, that was all. But muirn betha dan. And Wicca. Those were words he hadn't thought of for decades, for centuries! But something was nagging him about it. Muirn beatha dan...souls...connections...

Bunny smacked himself in the forehead, "I'm the stupidest damn rabbit ever in existence..."

Souls and connections! That's why Jack's staff had caused him pain. Bunny had carved the seal into his soul, and Jack had suffered through every minute of it. And for a split moment, Bunny felt Jack's soul. Cold, icy, cool, the palest shade of blue in the brightest light. But in that moment, something else close to the center shone a beautiful gold, and was warm in a way that the blue light welcomed. Somehow, Bunny knew it would resemble Lifa's own soul.

Maybe Bunny should explain to Jack was a muirn beatha dan is once they rendezvous in Canada, Bunny pondered as he curled back up to sleep.

Of course, sleep did not come. Bunny wasn't sure if it was a mercy or a curse.

* * *

Jack was nearly asleep when the _twee twee! _sound jolted him to his senses. "Eh? Hah? Wha?"

Oh, bravo, that was such an intelligent response. Jack focused on what was in front of him. One of Tooth's helpers. The little fairy tugged on the draw string of his hood. Jack blinked, "I can go see them now? Sunshine and Tooth?"

The fairy nodded, and Jack was clambering down back through the window in an instant. Tooth was in the room, the door slightly ajar. To Jack's horror, she was putting a bloodied apron in a laundry hamper. She only seemed slightly disturbed, but her delicate, sophisticated features were mostly calm and serene. She glanced up, and spoke quietly, "She's resting now. Won't be wake for a while...but she'll be fine by morning. Her powers will heal her now."

Jack stepped into the room, but Tooth flew forward, stopping him. "Jack, what you're going to find is going to shock you. Promise to stay calm, all right? Just remember she's okay."

"I will, Tooth." Jack promised, almost fearful. He walked past her to the bed at the end of the room. Lifa was resting, definitely. Mostly bandaged, almost all the way up to her neck. The blanket was pulled close to her chin, but left the top of her shoulders exposed. Jack realized she was just wearing a simple white tank top of the bandages.

But then he realized something was different about her left shoulder. He couldn't quite place his finger on it. Tooth stood to the side, waiting for what would happen. Jack hesitated, then reached forward and pulled back the blanket just an inch. He immediately took several steps back, gasping, "Jesus, Mary and Joseph, _no!_" on instinct. Tooth winced a little. Jack only said such things if he was really shocked to the core.

It was gone. Her arm was gone, what was left of her shoulder covered in bandages. It was just gone! Kaput, poof! _  
_

"T-t-tooth?!" Jack spun around, wanting an explanation.

Tooth sighed, and began explaining,gently. "The damage was too extensive. The burns were so deep, even the bone was charred. Jack, it wasn't even worth a try. There wasn't a try! I had to amputate it. But North can build her a prosthetic. And I can connect it. And you know she'll tweak it, she loves mechanics."

Jack plunked down on the edge of the bed, looking angry and grief stricken. "I should have been there, Tooth. I promised I wouldn't leave her alone, and then I did, and look at the losses!"

"Jack, don't you dare say it was your fault!" Tooth scolded instantly, "Lifa did this to herself!"

"Wh-what? What do you mean by that?!" Jack rose to is feet to defend her.

Tooth wiped her eyes, "Sh-she knew the Fearlings were planning to take you and I down, Jack. She dropped her defenses on purpose, and let them slaughter her. Fearlings c-can't resist...things like that...she did it to give you and I time to get our wind back."

"And you know...?"

"Because she told me." Tooth stated as a matter-of-factly, then stared at the floor, guiltily. "When I was bandaging her shoulder. She asked me if you and the others got out okay. I told her yes, and that's when she just...she just grinned at me...and fell asleep, carefree."

Tooth looked up, and Jack saw she was crying. "I will never understand how she can be so happy, giving up so much!"

Jack took it as a cue to step forward and hug Tooth. "That's just how she is. She'll give up anything to keep her loved ones safe. Her losses don't mean anything to her, if what she lost was worth it."

"H-hey...did you see...that kick she threw at one Fearling...before this happened? And that hand spring she did to get over the darkness barrier...?" Tooth asked suddenly. Jack blinked, and then remembered, "Yeah. It was all pretty impressive." he admitted. Tooth began to sob freely and Jack hugged her a little tighter when Tooth choked out,

"I taught her how to do that."

* * *

**A/N Like father, like daughter! Lifa will have a prosthetic, like Hiccup! Also, she's a Gear Head, so...yes. Did anyone look up muirn beatha dan? hehehe**

**It's two in the freakin' morning, I'll just end the chapter here, I'm soooo tired. I'll update tomorrow. Also, more of Bunny's time after he lost his wife continues. ****Essie didn't die in that attack. At least, his injuries didn't kill him as quickly as anyone would have thought. **

**Also, throwing it in that Tooth helped Bunny after the war, and after he became immortal. Basically, she was always busting him out of getting in over his head trying to population-control Fearlings and patching him up. Two character traits I've got for her: Actually very good under pressure in battle, and no fear of blood and very wide medical experience. Hence, her successfully efficient process of amputating Lifa's burned-to-a-crisp-by-darkness arm. **

**Tooth is not as sweet as she seems :3 she's a bamf.**

**Alright, good night. I'm so fucking tired. -DEAD-**


	35. Chapter 35

Lifa didn't know where she was. She'd woken up, but she hadn't been in any pain. Looking down, she was shocked to see what she was wearing. Her fur boots, brown leggings, beige tunic, fur vest...Nope. All gone.

She was dressed in the Golden Army attire Kosmotis had lent her so long ago. A long, knee length royal blue jacket, the cuffs, neck, belt, shiny buttons and shoulder guards gleaming gold. It buttoned all the way up to her neck, and let the white ruffles of her shirt spill out over the collar. Then there was the golden corset-like armor, that wrapped elegantly around her ribcage. It was beautiful, but actually had the purpose of preventing one's self from being impaled through the lungs and other various important innards. It served that purpose well. She was wearing the same deep black, close-fitting pants and the knee-high, golden brown boots. Her sword remained resting against her hip in it's sheath. Even her pristine white gloves were the same as ever, and her hair was held back from her eyes by a wreath of laurel leaves.

Lifa had been trained and then made into a real, true First Lieutenant Lifa Haddock of the Golden Army, student of General Kosmotis Pitchiner. Also his adopted daughter...

Lifa had always walked around proudly with her head held high in her Golden Army uniform. She had looked absolutely brilliant in it, too. Lifa was the youngest graduated student in the history of the Golden Army! But when Kosmotis trained her in the ways of the army, they had been one of few left that had been scattered throughout the cosmos. However, they remained on the world, Earth, where they'd met, swearing to protect it from Fearlings.

That was until the Witch Trials, and the Fearlings Kosmotis had failed to tell her that were inside him began to break down his barriers and eat away his mind. A year passed, and he slowly, painfully began to turn into Pitch Black. She'd tried to bring him to his senses, to talk to him, but as a result, the Fearlings took advantage of the anger and frustration her words caused and Kosmotis drew his blade and attacked her.

Lifa had barely made it out in time, and went straight to the Guardians. That was the day Kosmotis Pitchiner died, and Pitch Black took his place. His once normal, human skin color turned gray, his kind light brown eyes turned an unclean shade of gold, his teeth began pointed like a monster's and every bit of kindness, warmth, and love inside him shriveled and died. The Fearlings had destroyed Kosmotis Pitchiner, her father, her mentor, her protector...

Lifa gazed around. She realized she wasn't standing in just darkness. No, it was a prison. It reminded her of Pitch's lair.

Great Odin, _it is Pitch's lair!_

* * *

Tooth was still hovering by Lifa's bed side as the girl slept. Tooth hadn't budged for a moment. She kept checking the bandages, reapplying salve even though Lifa's powers only needed about another hour to heal her completely, and she kept talking to her. Jack peeked through the door.

Tooth was rewrapping Lifa's shoulder in fresh bandages. Jack's eyebrows scrunched together again. He didn't like seeing Tooth so worried and upset, especially after she'd cried so much earlier, leaving Jack with a soaked hoody. Jack kept staring at Tooth's expression, then glanced at Lifa. The color was slowly coming back into her face, touching her cheeks and lips pink again. He liked the shape of her lips. And her freckles were _adorable. _He could swear, he'd memorized what her face looked like perfectly, each individual freckle and the barely noticeable scars...Was that creepy or what?

Okay, he was going stop thinking about all that right _now_.

Jack clicked the door shut once again. He'd tried talking Tooth out of fussing over her a while ago, but it had been a futile effort. He'd given up. Jack sat down on the floor in the hallway. He seemed to be doing a lot of waiting, as of lately.

* * *

Bunny was still asleep. More passed out, actually. And the dreams rolled back into his mind once again, relentless.

_Bunny packed the earth firmly with one paw around the last living plant he could find, and he'd hunted for them desperately. Dahlia flowers. __They were serving as the grave marker for his wife. Essie was cradled in his free arm. Esmond mumbled something incoherently. Bunny looked down at him and nuzzled his son's forehead gently, "Try again, Essie."_

_His son was alive, however difficult it was. But he seemed to not remember what had happened, as if in shock or temporary memory loss. Esmond blinked open his cerulean colored eyes, and spoke again,_

_"Where's Mummy?"_

_Bunny felt what was left of his heart nearly shatter. He swallowed several times, trying to get rid of the lump in his throat. It felt like a wad of clay had wedged itself in his windpipe. He choked out, "She isn't here, kiddo."_

_"Where is she?"_

_Bunny shook his head silently, unable to answer his son's question. He stood up, cradling Esmond close. Esmond asked again, "Why can't I see Mummy anymore? Where is she? Where's Mummy?!"_

_"She's in the Summerlands." Bunny finally answered, staring down at the grave. He'd carried Dahlia's body away from the destruction, Essie on his shoulders, then buried her beneath a cherry blossom tree. She'd always loved them, and Essie always had the most fun throwing stones at the branches, making the white petals rain down like snowflakes. Bunny had said his goodbyes to her while Essie slept. "Time to say goodbye, Essie." he said, placing Essie on the ground by the grave._

_Essie's nose twitched, and he looked up at his father, scared. Bunny gave him an encouraging nod. Essie turned back to the grave, "Good bye, Mummy. Come home soon, okay? I love you lots." _

_"Alright, good lad. Let's get going." Bunny picked up Essie, and turned, walking away. He wanted to be away from the grave, to preserve the image in his mind of his wife. Essie kept his arms locked around his father's neck._

_"Da, what are the Summerlands?"_

Jeez, that's a lot to explain, _Bunny thought. "Well...It's where living things go when they're not alive anymore. It's where they go before they're reincarnated, if they want to be. It's...It's a really good place, Essie. Everything is green and growing, and everyone you love who left to be there before you did is waiting for you."_

_"Like Grandmum? And Grandda?" Essie asked._

_"Yup, them too. Nothing bad happens there, ever. That's where your Mummy is now."_

_"Why could we go with?" Essie mumbled, "I wanted to go with Mummy,"_

_Bunny tensed. Essie was too young to understand what death really meant. But then Essie began to cough until Bunny had to stop walking and lay him down on the ground, and sit him up, thumping his back in hopes of helping whatever was making him cough loosen up or go away. _

_And then he saw the dark streaks in the iris of Esmond's eyes, and the blood and dark liquid he was coughing up. Bunny wiped it away from Essie's mouth before his son even noticed, and Essie grunted in complaint, like when his mother would do the same after a day of stealing all the berries from the garden. All the hope in Bunny shattered into nothing._

_Bunny picked him up again. Esmond snuggled close against his father's chest, settling to go to sleep, exhausted. __"Don't worry, Essie. You'll see Mummy soon," Bunny croaked, hugging him closer so Essie couldn't see his tears falling. _

* * *

Lifa drew her sword, and it gleamed in the darkness. The shadows hissed and drew away from the golden blade. They were utterly disgusted at the embodiment of light standing before them, as she strutted past them like a woman on a mission. Which, she was. But each cell she passed was empty. If you counted a mostly decayed body or skeleton of some human or creature as empty...

But she was here for a reason, she knew that. Lifa kept looking. Something was _alive _in this prison, and she intended to find it. She glanced into another cell, and there was nothing. Finally, it was the end of the hall.

"Huh. Nope...this is not where it ends." she kicked the wall, stabbed her sword at the ceiling, rapped her knuckles against each brick. _Rapraprap. _ But found nothing. She stomped her foot angrily. _Thonk._

"That sounded hollow." she immediately dropped to the floor and pressed her ear against it. Lifa had amazingly acute senses, from years of meditation. Any normal person would hear silence, maybe some water dripping.

But she heard faint, weak breathing and the drumming of someone's heart. Slamming her sword in to the stone, she twisted it, and did so several times. Then, when it was well cracked, she dug her fingers into the hole and hauled the stone tile away and dropped down into the cell.

Her eyes took a long time to adjust to the darkness. Lifa raised her blade, hoping it's magic would cast some light, but it did not. It's magic was no good in a prison like this. Lifa blinked, trying to see. Finally, she made out the outline of what looked like a man chained to the wall by his wrists, forced to stand up. She stepped forward again, and formed a small light in the palm of her hand, at great effort.

The man had skin color much similar to her own, a fair complexion, and human. He was thin, but not lacking in muscle, however he seemed undernourished. Clothed in simple black prison clothes, he had raven black hair and...and..._Dear to_ _Thor_, _I KNOW HIM! _

Lifa took several steps back. The man lifted his head, blinking warm, yet tired light brown eyes. He smiled at her, with not-pointed teeth. "It has been a long time, child."

Lifa opened and closed her mouth several times, speechless. _This can't be real...it's impossible, he's...he's dead...!_

"I know, it's shocking to see me again. And in this state, too." he spoke gently, as if not to frighten her. "But I promise, It really is me."

She shook her head, "No. It isn't. You're dead. You're Pitch Black!" she raised her blade, intending on running him through, but she couldn't. Those eyes looking at her were just too sad, sending her this message that said _It's okay. Please, do it. I want it to be over. Please..._

Lifa's arm trembled, and then steadied. _You want me to strike? Done. _She thought bitterly.

Then she lunged.


	36. Chapter 36

_Esmond was coughing again. _

_The sound had woken Bunny up for the third time that night, not that he'd actually been truly sleeping. Bunny rubbed his son's back, trying to help him breathe, but it did no good. Esmond coughed and wheezed helplessly. __Bunny sat up in the makeshift nest of leaves and soft pine needles he'd made for them to lay down in for the night. He helped Esmond sit up, however much the child moaned in pain, protesting. "Sorry, Essie, but you'll breathe easier this way. Just sit up for a few-"_

_That was when Esmond lurched forward and retched violently. Fresh terror seared through Bunny as his son vomited blood and the foul smelling, liquefied darkness. Essie dry heaved for several minutes until it was finally over. Bunny cradled him close, rocking him back and forth as Esmond cried weakly._

_His son's strength was draining away day by day. They had begun their journey to Bunny-did-not-know-where three days ago. He'd been unable to walk on the second day. On the third day, he was only awake for a few minutes at a time, the aching pain and nausea too much for his small body to handle._

_"You're okay. You're okay...My little Essie, you're okay..." he murmured the endless mantra as his son shuddered in pain and chills. Bunny cringed as the kit whimpered pitifully. He wasn't okay._

_As he cradled his son in that moment, Bunny knew he was dying._

* * *

Kosmotis Pitchiner fell from his restraints onto the floor, coming face to face with Lifa's boots. He blinked, and stared at his wrists, rubbed raw from the chains that had been struck off by her blade.

_Shiinng_

That was the sound of her sheathing her blade, and kneeling down in front of him. Kosmotis nearly scrambled backwards when he face her take his face in her hands, and stared at him intently, analyzing his appearance. Without meaning too, he was also drinking in the fact she was here.

Something in her eyes softened and broke. "It _is _you!"

"Yes-" He began, but gasped in shock when she locked her arms around his waist, and buried her face in his shirt, hugging him tightly. Kosmotis wasn't sure how to respond.

He'd spent centuries being hated, hurting and terrorizing others. He was unable to break the hold the Fearlings and Pitch Black had on him. Deprived of love, human touch, family, and anything a human being needed, being suddenly embraced shook him to the core. The warmth and sincerity was...alien to him now.

But he wrapped his arms around her when she spoke the next few words that made light warm his heart again,

"I missed you, Father!"

* * *

Jack tiptoed into the room again, carrying a blanket. Tooth was asleep in a chair by the bed, still having refused to bed. Jack put the blanket around her shoulders. "Tooth, you're hopeless..."

"Oh, I think it's just maternal instinct."

Jack stiffened. At first, he thought the voice was Pitch's. It was smooth, silk like, British accented, and noble sounding. But it was too young to sound like Pitch. Someone older than Jack, but younger than the Boogeyman. Jack turned around slowly, drawing his sword.

"Please, this is a friendly visit." said the teenager in front of him.

The young man was wearing a black, high collared trench coat, and black shoes and black trousers. He was dressed fancy, like someone who was very wealthy and high-born. He had thick, raven colored hair and pure, silver eyes. "Allow me to introduce myself," he smiled, ignoring the fact that Jack had assumed third position, to protect his right side, and was pointing his blade at him.

"I am Deimos, God of Terror. It's a pleasure to finally meet you face to face, Jack Frost."

* * *

_Bunny had been walking forever. Esmond wouldn't wake up, and Bunny wished he could see his eyes, just one more time. They were heading back the way they came, to where the funeral for Dahlia had been held. It was the only place Bunny could think to go. _

_If there were any Pooka's left, they would have found them, or been found, or Bunny would have seen it when he'd stopped to scry for answers. But the clouds didn't help, nor the earth. He'd even tried water, even though he'd never had the talent of using that element for scrying. Fire was out of the question. He didn't have a mirror to try using, either._

_It was about a mile away, now. The grave. Bunny sat down under an oak tree, exhausted. Esmond let out a keening whine of pain, and Bunny nuzzled his forehead in an attempt to comfort him, but for once, it didn't. He sighed helplessly, and lay his head against the tree he was sitting against, closing his eyes. _

_Everything was exhausting. The walking, the thinking, the keeping watch for Fearlings even though they were long gone, and trying to keep his son alive, with futile attempts...It was too much._

_By the time Bunny __woke up, he started to say Esmond's name, to ask him if he was alright. But Essie remained asleep, his scrawny chest rising and falling, barely breathing. Bunny stood on shaky legs, and started walking again. He wasn't sure why he wanted to go back to Dahlia's grave. Maybe it was because there was no here to go, and he didn't want to leave her behind._

_Not that she could come with them. Dahlia is dead. But he was having trouble letting go. Bunny blinked as he got to the top of the hill. A few yards away, he could see the cherry tree. _

_"Essie, look. We're back."_

_Essie didn't even stir._

_"Esmond?"_

_Bunny listened intently, for his son's heart beat. But it was silent. "ESSIE?!" he shouted, shaking the kit. "Wake up!" he begged. Bunny fell to his knees, shaking Esmond and shouting at him. But Essie was limp and lifeless. _

_Finally, E. Aster Bunnymund broke. He clutched his son close and sobbed for everything he had lost. His race, the love of his life, his family, and now the only thing he'd had left that was worth fighting to stay alive for, his son. He wailed and cried endlessly, because there was nothing else he could do. There was nothing left. __He suffered in his grief until he, too, was dead. _

_E. Aster Bunnymund died of a broken heart, hours after his son was killed by the poison of a Fearling's claws. _

* * *

Jack seethed in rage. This was Deimos?! The freak that took Lifa hostage?!

"Jack, why are you looking at me so angrily? It's really impolite, you know."

"Impolite? IMPOLITE?!" Jack hissed, "Look at what you've done! This is your fault! Your terrorized, humiliated, imprisoned, brainwashed and poisoned Sunshine! And then you sent Fearlings to attack us, and nearly killed us all and Lifa lost her _arm _to keep us all alive!"

Deimos raised his eyebrows slightly, "It wasn't my fault she lost a limb. It's simply the risks of battle. From her time period, this would be something to brag about and have a few drinks over."

Jack stepped forward and put his arm against Deimos's throat, shoving him out of the room at incredible speed and slamming him against the wall outside, snarling, "You hurt someone I love, and endangered the Guardians. I'm not a killer, but you've pissed me off beyond my limits and that is NOT a good place to stand!"

"Hm. I don't think it matters if you kill me or not. It would do no good for you. After all, it's quite obvious." Deimos smiled.

"What the hell are you talking about? What is?"

"It's obvious Lifa doesn't love you back. Oh, you might not admit it, but you really love her, truly. I'm sure you just haven't realized it yet. But it doesn't matter. You're Jack Frost, you make a mess of everything! You bring cold death with you everywhere you go!" Deimos crowed.

Jack put the edge of his blade against Deimos's throat. The words hurt like utter hell, but he wouldn't show it.

"Lifa is life, warmth, and courage. Everyone loves her, and even if they didn't, they would respect her. But that's not the case for YOU, Frost. You _are _a killer, however you may claim not to be."

Every muscle in Jack's body went rigid with anger and horror, "No. Stop."

"You let innocent people freeze to death, and destroy undeserving cities with your blizzards. Who could love a murderer? You'll always be alone!"

Jack lunged with his blade, but the shadows swallowed up Deimos, and Jack's blade impaled the wall. Jack cursed, and slashed and stabbed at the poor wall, as if Deimos was hiding behind it.

Finally, he plunged the blade into the floor, and dropped to his knees, only held up because his hands were gripping the blade's handle so tight. He felt ready to give up. After all, Deimos was right...It didn't matter what he did. All he could do was wait. He couldn't help Lifa heal any faster, or Tooth get anything done in the palace. He knew Deimos was right, however much he despised him.

He always was alone in the end.

* * *

Bunny sat up, his eyes dark. He had that dream often, his death. Just like Jack and Lifa, he'd died before becoming a Guardian. Man in Moon made him a spirit two days after his grief had killed him. And then...Tooth came along. It was a decade after he became immortal. He'd spent all his years, hunting Fearlings and destroying them. Of course, he took care of Easter, too, but it wasn't his priority. Paint an egg one color, done. Hide it. Done.

Tooth came along when he'd nearly gotten killed in a particularly bad scrap, and if it wasn't for her, he'd probably have had to hack off his leg to stay alive. The bones had been shattered and there was so much damage...But Tooth was an amazing doctor and after a year, he was up and back on his feet.

After that, he'd met the other Guardians. Tooth helped him defeat Fearlings, until the cursed monsters went back into their holes and left the world in peace. Well, as peaceful as humans were...

Bunny sighed. He never did get to see his son's blue eyes again. They were always so full of hope, and happiness and every time the kid smiled, his eyes lit up. That's what made smiles like that contagious.

Jack's eyes were the same. At first, Bunny recognized it right away. And he'd hated Jack for it. His white hair, and blue eyes reminded him of Esmond, and the pain was unbearable, so he avoided Jack and shut him out. That was part of the reason he left the kid alone.

The other reason was that Jack was an insufferable (pardon the pun) jack ass who would be the end of Bunny, one day and there was not enough Advil in the world to handle all the head aches.

* * *

**A/N mixed feelings chapter. I improvised Bunny's death. Yeah, I think you can die that way. Broken heart, shock, exhaustion, grief and depression rolled up into one?**

**BOOM stone dead. **

**Well, Pitch is back in the story! BUT AS KOSMOTIS PITCHINER AND A GOOD GUY, HUZZAH.**

**Alright, this is a multiple-sides-of-the-story way of writing I've adopted for this point in the plot. I'mma need lots of reviews to get going on the next chapter, because I can feel the writer's block coming on.**

**I usually only get two reviews per chapter. I love you guys. But I know you're out there, I can see the views. 4,250 views. I KNOW YOU'RE OUT THERE, I CAN HEAR YOU TAKING IN OXYGEN AND EXPELLING CARBON DIOXIDE. ****But seriously, I love getting reviews, it fuels me for the next chapter. I have lots of fanfic to READ, and my Bro returned my longboard, meaning I HAVE AN OUTDOOR LIFE NOW. So I have other stuff to do while I wait for my five reviews on this chapter hehehe.**

**I like the way these chapters are turning out. Now, if I can figure out how to write Sandy and North, that'd move writer's block out of the way...**


	37. Chapter 37

"I know it has been centuries, my child. But I need to explain to you what I brought you here for." Kosmotis let go of Lifa, "Sit and we'll talk."

She sat in front of Kosmotis, and stared at him. He was too thin, too tired looking, and colorless, as if life was draining away from him.

"You look like you're sick," she said.

"Years of being possessed by darkness will do that." he replied. "You understand our two enemies, Deimos and Phobos?"

"Yes. Deimos is the brains, though, that son of a bitch." she agreed.

"And before I start explaining more...Jack Frost. Is he alright?"

Lifa blinked in surprise. Then she remembered Pitch's brutal torture session he'd inflicted on Jack, and her heart twisted painfully for him. He didn't deserve it. "Yes...he's alright."

"If you can...Please, tell him...I'm sorry. I'm so sorry for what Pitch did to him. I...I tried my best to fight back. To make him stop. But..." Kosmotis bowed his head, trembling, staring at his hands. A monster of darkness had taken his body, and used his own hands to torture and terrorize a _child. _An innocent boy, and he'd put him through sheer, utter agony. Lifa smiled, "I'll tell him. Trust me, he'll understand."

Kosmotis smiled at her gratefully. Lifa became acutely aware of how heavy his eyes were. Heavy with all the things he'd seen and done. But Kosmotis took a deep breath, and began explaining once more.

"They plan to bring old immortals, long forgotten, back to life. Hades, Ares, Mars, And the big ones, too. Satan, for example. Not as powerful as you might think, just greatly feared. But not to be messed with. Also, old monsters. Demons, Puca's, other evil creatures, and one you might remember from your real father's stories."

Lifa raised her eyebrows. "You don't mean..."

"Yes. I do. The Red Death. But it'll be ten times as more powerful than before."

"Wonderful," she muttered. "The gods hate me."

"Oh, I think they're rather fond of you, if you've lasted this long with your life style." Kosmotis chuckled.

"Alright, Mentor. What do I do?"

"You regroup with the others, explain to them what's happening. Deimos will bring back the Greek gods first, then the monsters, and then raise Hell."

"Hell exists?" Lifa frowned.

"Of course it does. If you want to know about it, ask Jackson. He was raised a Christian, you know."

_I'll remember that, _she thought. She nodded for Kosmotis to continue. He took a deep breath, the effort of speaking so much draining him.

"You have a secret power, Lifa. You know your conduit, your necklace, protects you. It brings you good fortune. But the Night Fury scale embedded in it has yet to have it's real purpose and ability revealed."

"And it is...?"

Kosmotis smiled tiredly, "Not my duty to tell you. All I can say, it's to summon an old ally."

"Alright. I'll remember that." she nodded. "Is that all?"

"No. Stay away from Deimos. He plans on doing to you what the Fearlings did to me. Lifa, the sun is an incredible power, just like Man in Moon. If you're taken, we're all doomed. They cannot have the sun in their power, do you understand?"

"I do."

"Good. Lifa, this is bigger than anything we've ever faced. Once you jump in, you cannot climb back out. Are you absolutely sure you're ready to lead the Guardians and your allies into this fight?"

Lifa stood up, "Yep. Come on."

"What? Come where?"

"Away from here!" She exclaimed, "I can rescue you now!"

Kosmotis gazed at her sadly. "Daughter...I love you so much. And I wish I could go with you, away from the darkness. But this isn't real. What I said is very true, but...where you are is a dream."

Lifa stared at him in shock, "_I'M DREAMING?"_

"Yes. This is the final spell I cast. I'm giving the last of my soul to be able to warn you."

Lifa shook her head, "No...No...!"

Kosmotis stood and lay his hands on her shoulders, looking at her sympathetically, lovingly. "I'm sorry, but after this, you won't see me again."

Lifa's eyes filled with tears.

"Lifa, I am dead." he whispered, brushing a tear from her cheek. "I have to leave you now. Remember everything I told you, and told you. You're the greatest warrior in creation. That is...That is your center."

"M-my center?"

Kosmotis nodded, "Your center is...is fight. You have the courage, the wits, and the strength to fight anything and _win."_

"You can't be dead! You're right in front of me!" she sobbed. Kosmotis pulled her into one last hug, warm and protective. "I know...I know. But my time in this world is over, child." he murmured. "Your's is just beginning."

Lifa hugged him tightly,hiccuping, and her tears falling so fast she thought they would never stop. "Please don't go...I just got you back, you can't go away again!"

"I'm already gone. Come on, no more crying. Keep your head held high, and be strong. Don't be afraid anymore." he smiled, and kissed the top of her head. "Promise me that."

Lifa's head spun. She was dreaming? Kosmotis was dead? And Satan, demons, Hell, Greek gods, a very, VERY big dragon coming to fight them...Could she handle it?

Her tears stopped flowing.

"I promise."

* * *

"Jack? What's wrong?"

Jack turned around to see Tooth gazing at him worriedly. "Jack! Why...What happened? Why do you have your sword out?!"

Jack pulled it out of the floor and sheathed it. "A Fearling got in. I took care of it. There aren't any more of them," he lied.

Tooth stared at him dubiously, as he stood up and put his cold hand on her arm, "Tooth, you need to go get some sleep. Really. I can keep an eye on Lifa until you're back. Okay?"

Tooth hesitated. But Jack cared about Lifa. "Alright. If you're sure..."

"I'm sure." he insisted.

After Tooth left, Jack plunked down in the chair. He tapped the hilt of his sword worriedly. Sitting back in the chair, he closed his eyes. The sun was rising, it's light changing colors as it gradually climbed in the sky. Jack glanced at Lifa, who's eyes were slowly opening.

Jack knew she wasn't truly awake. Her mind wasn't with her yet. But he was entranced by her eyes. He'd only ever seen them gold but now...now they were changing color as he watched. The edges of the iris were a deep, orange red, almost scarlet. The rest of the iris started out golden around the pupil, and merged into a deep amber. As the sun rose, it cast it's light through the crystal window pain, sending golds, yellows, oranges, and reds of all colors illuminating in the room. As the sun rose, and became golden in the wide expanse of the sky, Lifa's eyes changed color with it.

And it was the most _beautiful _thing Jack had ever seen. More beautiful than frost patterns against deep brown tree bark, or snow blanketing each tiny twig. More beautiful than laying down in the snow at night and watching the snowflakes drift down from the deep, indigo sky.

Lifa blinked, and began to sit up. She was still wrapped in bandages, her entire torso and left shoulder. They served almost like a shirt, both keeping the burns and injuries clean and covering her up. Jack remained silent, watching her. She obviously hadn't realized he was there. Her chocolate colored hair look copper, as the sunlight reflected off it, showing it's red tinted highlights and shine waves. It was just her eyes she were beautiful. _Lifa _was beautiful. Finally, she glanced at him, and she smiled, as if saying _Hey, we both didn't die. Hurray!_

And then the serenity on her face shattered, and her amber gold eyes shot wide in horrified realization.

Jack's heart twisted painfully when her right hand groped at her left shoulder. Jack reached over and pulled her hand away, "I'm sorry..." he murmured. She stared at him, "I-it's GONE!"

"I know. We had to. But...But North can build you a new one. You can make the design," he spoke quietly, trying to be gentle. Lifa fell back against the pillows, covering her eyes with her hand, her breath coming out in short, deep gasps as she held off a panic attack. Jack stood up. He was going to ask a fairy to go and make tea or something. He thought it might calm her down, and drinking something was probably a good thing.

And then he heard her laugh softly. He turned around again, "Sunshine...? You still sane or..."

Lifa still laughed, chortling, and taking her hand from her eyes, clenching her fist in the fringe of her hair, her smile mostly a grimace. "Like father like daughter..." she muttered.

"Pardon?"

"My father...lost his foot...and had a prosthetic..." she laughed, almost maniacally. "And now look at me! _LIKE FATHER LIKE DAUGHTER."  
_

Jack flinched as she snarled out the last sentence. He sighed, and thought about what to do. He began speaking, "From what I've heard...your father had been a great man. He changed a whole world. So if anything...history is repeating itself, with a new story and a new character. This time, a heroine." Jack shot her a gentle smile, "And I'd say it's a very well written character."

"Huh. It's amazing the story hasn't ended yet, with my life style. You know, getting hurt and sleeping for two days three times a month."

Jack laughed with her that time. "I think you're what people call a bad penny," he grinned, "Always bouncing back, one way or another."

"Bad penny, huh? Sounds about right..." she mused. Jack relaxed. Her lopsided smile had returned, the genuine one.

"Here, you're just...well...you're just wearing bandages," he glanced away, and pulled his hoody over his head, "You can wear this, if you want..Or I can go hunting from something else if you don't like blue or-"

"It's fine." she took the hoody, and slipped it over her head. "Thanks." she smiled, cuffing the sleeves. They were a little long for her, but she liked having the hoody being a little too big. For some reason, it made her feel a little...safer.

Jack tugged at the hem of his white t-shirt. "You're welcome..."

"You're a sweet boy, Jack."

Jack stared at the floor, chuckling nervously, and hoping she couldn't see him blushing.

"I had a weird dream, you know..." she mumbled.

Jack sat down on the foot of the bed, sitting Indian style and staring at her. "Alright, I'm up for a story."

"I'm not sure..." she began, but then Jack gave her this big-blue-eyes look that reminded her of a baby Arctic seal, and then she couldn't say no. Lifa took a deep breath, and began recapping the dream to him.

* * *

_Bunny gazed around the lush, green landscape. He could hear the ocean, somewhere far off. Taking a deep breath, earthy smells hit his nose. So many flowers and trees, the smell of mist, clean water, mountains, rich earth...The Summerlands._

_He was in the Summerlands._

_"Are you Aster Bunnymund?"_

_Bunny spun around, "WHO-?!"_

_There was a man standing in front of him. Brown slacks, a plain, white cotton shirt and brown cloak, sturdy boots, and thick brown hair and brown eyes. A little girl wearing a brown dress with a red hem, with the same hair and eyes clung to his cloak and he was holding a woman's hand. The woman has caramel brown hair, long, thick and straight, the top layer tied back with a deep blue ribbon. She wore a colonial dress that was a faded sky blue. Blue must have been her favorite color. Her eyes were a kind, warm hazel, mostly green, and something about them all was familiar._

_The man spoke, "I'm Jack Overland. This is my wife, Mairead. And my daughter, Emma."_

_He smiled down at Emma encouragingly, and she waved at Bunny hesitatingly, trying to smile._

_"You're Jack's family?" Bunny stepped forward, looking at them. Mairead smiled, "Yes. We're just here to thank you."_

_"For what?"_

_Emma spoke up, "For taking care of Jackie."_

_"And for protecting him," Mairead added._

_"And stepping up to be his father. He needs one." Jack Senior said. "It's not my job anymore."_

_Bunny was speechless. "Why are you all here?"_

_"Because your doubts are dangerous, and we need to assure you they aren't true." Mairead said._

_"You didn't doom Jack. You saved him. Yes, the seal on his staff hurt him, but it didn't injure him. He's fine, and he's safe. And he doesn't resent you." Jack smiled. "Stop being afraid."_

_Before Bunny could respond, the Overland family was gone. And in their place, a man wearing a fur cape, green shirt, brown pants, chainmail attached to a belt with a bronze buckle on it that had some sort of dragon-like crest on it. He had coppery brown hair, and olive green eyes. His hair and freckles reminded him of someone..._

_Next to him, a woman in a white shirt with ankle length sleeves, shoulder armor, a short red skirt, fur boots, brown leggings, and a thick, blond braid and gray-blue eyes. Bunny wasn't intimidated by them, until he saw the great black beast behind them rear up on his hind legs to look at Bunny curiously._

_"CRIKEY!" he shouted, stepping back several feet. They two people laughed, and the man spoke to the dragon, "Easy, bud. You're scaring him. Down, Toothless."_

_Toothless?_

_Bunny knew who they were._

_"Are you...Lifa's parents?"_

_"That's right." the woman grinned. "We're just here to tell you that she's ready."_

_"I never said she wasn't..." Bunny began, but the man cut him off._

_"You were doubting her ability to be in this fight, to win and lead. Well, I'm telling you that's a load of Gronkel crap."_

_Bunny raised his eyebrows. What the heck was a Gronkel?_

_"You need to TRUST her. And one more thing," the man pointed behind Bunny. The dragon lumbered forward and bashed his nose against Bunny's shoulder, spinning him around. The woman called over, "Ya might wanna watch out for that."_

_Bunny thought he would die of stress and fear right on that spot. A dragon, a MONSTER, loomed in front of him, with stone colored skin, ridges on it's back, multiple eyes..._

_"What the bloody hell is that?!" he demanded._

_"The Red Death. Tell my little pal to remember, dragon's aren't so fireproof on the inside," the man said too cheerfully. The dragon next to him, the black one, let out this odd noise that Bunny thought to be a chuckle. _

_And then the Red Death spotted them, and it opened it's mouth. It's great maw filled with electric green gas, and Bunny saw a spark...Then the world was consumed by flames._

Bunny jolted awake. Clambering to his feet, he shook his fur out, and stretched for about five minutes. He'd never felt so stiff and achy.

Bunny stepped outside the Warren, blinking at the bright light.

"CRIKEY!" He shouted as he was crushed in someone's embrace. All he could see was red fabric. "North...crushing...ribs..." he choked.

North let go of him, and Sandy took his place, images flashing over his head. Bunny, a magic wand, a dial being turned to the setting "low"...Sandy waved his arms around and then shook his finger at Bunny.

"Uhh..."

North stepped forward, "What Sandy means to say is, do not scare us like that again, my friend. We feared you would not awaken. Next time, do not use so much magic!"

Bunny rubbed his rib cage, gasping, "Y-yeah...I'll try t'remember that, North...You do know the rest of us aren't as...densely packed as you are?"

"What do you mean by densely packed?!" North cried, as Sandy laughed silently, and Bunny smiled wearily.

* * *

Lifa tugged at the drawstring of the hood, finishing her story.

Jack was speechless. "Pitch...No, Kosmotis...Oh my God...I never knew he'd been a person. And a GOOD person! And a real father and...I-is he really dead?"

Lifa pressed the heel of her hand to her cheek, wiping away a tear. "Yes," she croaked, "He is. I...I've lost him...I've lost him again!" she hiccuped.

Jack crawled forward on the bed and hugged her, "Hey, he was happy in the end. And...Kosmotis Pitchiner was a good man. He wouldn't want you upset, okay? Don't cry. Please, don't cry..."

Lifa's hiccups went away, and she stopped trembling. "You're right. Besides...crying won't help anything. We need a plan."

"And you have on?" he asked, letting go of her. Lifa stood up off the bed, and nearly tripped over the white sweatpants she was wearing. They were a little long. Bending down, she cuffed the hem of each of them. Jack chuckled, "Wow...you're...short."

"WHAT?!" she practically exploded, "I am NOT short!"

"Sunny pipsqueak," he teased.

Jack realized she was drawing her right fist back and he didn't dodge in time. Lifa punched him in the chest and sent him careening over the other side of the bed. She _hmphed _and threw open the window. Gathering sunlight in her hand, she let it shoot out in a streak. "I'm alerting Bunny with a sunbeam. We're rendezvousing in the Canadian Rockies."

"Oh! I love that place!" Jack jumped to his feet. "I like this plan."

"Good. Any questions?"

"Um, just one." Jack frowned, "About your dream. What's the Red Death?"

"In a nutshell? It's a dragon bigger than four stories and it's very deadly, and basically will incinerate you on the stop in point four seconds."

Jack looked horrified. Incineration?! He was _terrified _of fire. Lifa was about to laugh at his facial expression, but then she remembered the burns on his staff, from after they'd rescued him. She realized how much fire must scare him. He thought of flames, and all he could remember was agony.

"I'm sorry, Jack...I didn't think..." she began.

Jack faked a smile, "No, it's alright. It's in the past."

"You understand...it was Pitch who hurt you. Not Kosmotis? He told me he hated what Pitch did to you...he tried fighting back, to help you but..."

Jack shook his head. "It wasn't Kosmotis's fault. I know that. It's Pitch I hate, not him."

Lifa relaxed, and walked over to stand in front of Jack. "Good."

"Is...Is Pitch gone now?" he asked, hesitating. Fear flickered in his cerulean eyes. "Really, truly gone?"

"Yes," she nodded. She wrapped her arm around Jack's waist, hugging him the best she could with only one arm, "He'll never hurt you again. I swear it."

Jack hugged her back, resting his chin on the top of her head. He liked that she was short. Whenever he hugged her, he could completely envelop her in his arms, protectively. And she was so close, too. Also, being able to rest his chin on her head allowed him to take in the scent of her hair. Imagine walking outside on a sunny day, in any season. Everything is bright, alive, and warm. The definition of the term sun-sweet. But now she was wearing his hoody, and the sun-sweet smell mingled with the scent of clean snow and fresh pine needles. It was even better.

"You know, you surprised me a lot. Coming out of that in one piece. I doubt how strong you really were," she said suddenly.

"Maybe it's because I'm hanging around you so much. I mean," he forced a laugh, "You just lost your arm, and you look pretty good."

"I'll take that as a compliment," she murmured.

"Are you honestly sure we can win this fight, Sunshine?" he asked doubtfully.

"I'm positive."

"Why?"

"Because, I've got the embodiment of winter on my side. You ain't a bad warrior, Frost. You impressed me, actually."

"Do I?" he smirked.

Jack tensed when she let go of him, and grabbed the front of his shirt with her hand, pulling him down a little to her height. And then to his shock, she kissed him, full on the mouth. Her lips were soft, warm, and he couldn't believe SHE was kissing HIM. Almost instinctively, he kissed her back, and it was almost...an explosive sensation. Whoever said kissing "the one" was like fireworks hadn't met "the one" because that was a major understatement of the feeling.

Lifa pulled back, and saw at his stunned expression, majorly blushing face, and his dorky smile. She gave him her best she-wolf like grin.

"Yeah, Frosty. Ya really do."

* * *

**A/N hehehe I wanted to throw in the out-going Lifa thing. She grabbed Jack and gave him a big kiss. There you go, FrostBurn shippers!**

**Oh my god I've turned into a FrostBurn shipper. I just really wanted them to kiss _ and Jack to do something sweet, as in giving her his hoody. And Bunny is having weird contact-with-the-dead dreams. Wicca stuff.**

**What is Lifa's special, undiscovered power? All I can tell you is that it's fuckin' awesome.**

**Next chapter? WE'RE GOIN' TO CANADA. **

**Great, my family is from there. *singing Anthem* Oooooh Canadaaaaa...my home and native laaaaaand...**

**PLEASE REVIEW, COME ON GUYS. I need feedback on the romance and the dreams. Lots of it, cuz I'm trying new first timer stuff here. Help me out!**

**Alright, buh bye.**

***tuck-n-rolls out singing Canadian Anthem* (FOR TRUE PATRIOT LOVE...!)**


	38. Chapter 38

**A/N Responding to Guest's questions**

**What happens to Jack next is a mystery. And Lifa is having a bit of a vision. Lifa can use magic, and each person's magic has a dominant element. Hers is psychological and scientific. Meaning, she's able to receive messages through dreams. Kosmotis used the last of his soul just before he died to tell her what was happening. No, not a dream world. Just a cryptic message and magic.**

**And in this chapter- Prepare for to have feelings over Bunny in the next few chapters! :D and FrostBurn**

* * *

Jack was still in shock, his head reeling, face feeling hot and very, _very _confused.

Let's rewind a bit.

Lifa had kissed him. She'd grabbed the front of his shirt and planted a big kiss on his lips, and then grinned at him after. She still surprised him with how daring she was. What, did this mean she liked him? She was messing with him? As he could recall, she'd threatened to kill him at the Pole because he didn't listen to her. Of course, she was in commando-war-mode back then. But then he started hearing Deimos's words again.

_"Lifa is life, warmth, and courage. Everyone loves her, and even if they didn't, they would respect her. But that's not the case for YOU, Frost. You are a killer, however you may claim not to be."_

Jack tried to force the flashback away, but it persisted.

_"You let innocent people freeze to death, and destroy undeserving cities with your blizzards. Who could love a murderer? You'll always be alone!"_

"Lifa...I know this is random but...Well, to me it isn't." he backed away from her. "Do...Do you think I'm a killer?

"What?!" Lifa's grin vanished. "Why would you even ask that?!"

"I was just thinking...Three hundred years alone...I saw a lot of people freeze to death because of me. And I tried to help, but just by getting close to them, they just died faster."

"But you didn't mean to." she frowned, cocking her head at him. Jack realized she gripped her left shoulder with her right hand, almost protectively. Lifa was acutely aware of the absence of her arm. "And Death is natural, Jack. Even if you weren't there, they were probably meant to die right then. It's a thing of fate."

"Fate?" he snorted, "That's crap. I don't believe in fate."

Lifa sighed, and went back over to the window, opening it to let in more sunlight. Something nagged in her mind. An old friend...

"When I was human, I met the queen of another clan who was allies to the one I was married too. She became my best friend, like my big sister. She was quite a lot like me, and taught me archery. Big, red curly hair. And when I told her my marriage was arranged, she told me...This wonderful, crazy story of how she changed her fate. I quote her,"

Lifa took a deep breath. "Some say our destiny is tied to the land. As much a part of us as we are of it. Others say fate is woven together, like a cloth," she smiled, tugged at the hem of the blue hoody Jack had lent her to wear, "So that it intertwines with many others. It's the one thing we search for, or fight to change. Some never find it. But there are some who are led."

"So...Did she change her fate?"

"Well, she turned her mother and brothers into bears and managed to fix it, so I'd say she did." Lifa chuckled at Jack's bewildered expression. "And it helped me change mine. That night, I packed up and went off to Berk to help them fight off the Outcasts."

"Lifa, that was the day you DIED!"

"That was the day I became the greatest warrior in creation, and the sun's tie to the earth." she corrected him. "The fact is, Winter is incredibly important to the balance of the world. It brings as much death as it does life."

"Life?"

"Mmhm. It gives Mother Nature the time she needs to create enough to bring spring and life back to the world. Even she needs to reserve her power. She can't do that without winter, and we'd all be doomed."

Jack had certainly never thought of it like that. He gazed at her for a moment, and finally, a smile broke out on his face. "You're a great speech giver, you know."

"Mmhmmm...One more thing, before we head off to Canada."

"Yeah?"

Lifa turned away from the window, "You kissed me back. I just want to know why...just...you know...because." Ah, silvertongue turned to lead.

"Why do you think? Because I _like _you. It just came, I dunno...Naturally?" Jack stood up, pacing and swinging his staff around the way he did when he got nervous and agitated to the max. Lifa wondered if he was ADHD. "But I really, really like you, a lot. So...Gah, I've literally never spoken to a girl like this. Not in my human life or the past three hundred years."

Lifa laughed, "I can tell. Keep going, Frost."

Jack took a deep breath, "Alright, I'll just come out and ask it, then. Lifa, are we...together now?"

"Do you want to be?"

"Yes!"

"Me, too." Lifa surprised herself when she'd said it, but then again, she was the one who'd kissed him. Of course she did. Over the past month, he'd just...opened her up. For one thing, she was definitely more...humane now. Before, she'd been a cold blooded sociopath. Now? A lot more empathetic. Maybe hanging around someone as compassionate and kind as Jack Frost was let those things rub off on you. But waking up and seeing him by her bedside _again _to watch over her and making sure she was okay...That was when she realized how much she actually cared about him. Lifa hadn't acknowledged any of her feelings before, but looking at it all now, she knew Jack was her best friend. He'd stepped up and taken care of her when for once, she couldn't. He'd been there in her temporary deafness to find her a home and speak to her when no one else could. He'd trusted her, respected her, worried about her, and he _cared. _Jack had been there when she needed to cry on someone's shoulder, cheered her up when she'd been dying of darkness-poisoning by reading her the very book series she'd used to teach him to read in the first place, and learned her favorite Spirited Away song on violin, special for her.

For a moment, she didn't think she deserved someone like Jack. She always underestimated him, and she hated being underestimated. What's the golden rule? Treat others how you want to be treated.

"Stop that. You'll just hurt yourself," Lifa blinked out of her thoughts and realized Jack was prying her hand from the stump of her shoulder. She hadn't realized how tight her grip had grown. He held her hand and then pulled her into a hug, "We'll go to Canada, find North and Bunny and Sandy. You and North can team up, and build you a new arm. Okay? Stop worrying it."

"Okay," she smiled, wrapping her arm around his waist and resting her head against his chest. He smelled like...How could she describe it? A pine forest, covered in a foot thick layer of snow.

"Good. I'll wake up Tooth, and we can get going. You up for a flight?"

Lifa grinned and stepped back. With a dramatic _woosh _noise, her forming, glittering gold wings unfurled. "Of course I'm ready. Allons-y!"

Jack smiled.

He had no idea was allons-y meant, but he smiled anyway...Because now he knew, Deimos had been wrong.

* * *

"GAH! Ах нет!"

Bunny and Sandy turned around to see North staggering over, rubbing his eyes. "I am blinded!" he cried. "Ouchie..."

Bunny chuckled at the sunbeam that had blinded the poor man. "That'll be Sunshine signaling us."

Sandy made a sand maple leaf over his head, and then a moose.

"Yep, that's right. We're going to the Canadian Rockies. You two get ready, I'll be back in a pinch." Bunny stood up, and headed over to the garden, picking up his green knapsack with him. Pushing aside the vines and lichen at the end of the Warren that shielded the garden, and kept it secluded, he stepped inside. Opening his knapsack, he began to fill it with all kinds of plants.

Herbs, flowers, roots, and even some rotting ones, too. You never knew what spell you would need to cast. Along with his athame, wand made of willow wood and silver chalice. Basic Wiccan stuff, along with two books and a bowl, in case he needed to scry with water or fire. Mirrors didn't work for him very well, nor did clouds. Probably because he was afraid of heights and mirrors gave him in the creeps. Fire? He didn't mind it, as long as it didn't demolish any nature. But he mostly scryed with earth. Nice, sturdy earth. No rickety winds, or thick, sloshing water there. Bunny stood up. "I think I got everythin'..."

Bunny turned around, and was about to leave the garden when he saw some flicker by in the corner of his eye, through the sunflower patch. The sunflowers were tall, and grew in a thick, large spot and it was hard to see anything through them. Behind them, it's where the Warrnen opened up into a forest, dark and foreboding. Very little grew there, because it was outside the magic boundaries of Bunny's home.

Bunny carefully took the athame from the bag, and began to creep forward. Something was in the woods, watching him. A few more steps..

Bunny saw yellow eyes of a Fearling and before he could respond, something _snapped _and he was swung upside down into the air, suspended by a black rope. No, it wasn't the rope that had made the snapping noise. That was Bunny's ankle breaking clean in two. Bunny didn't even cry out in pain, but instead already began hacking at the rope. Caught in a rope trap? Really? Like any _ordinary_ rabbit!

Bunny's pride hurt more than his ankle did. Finally, he cut through the rope and landed hard on his side, and rolled onto his paws and knees, groaning. A raspy, condescending laugh echoed over the garden. The plants began to shrivel and die. The air smelled like rotting corpses, the sickly sweet smell of decay and ash. Bunny tried his best not to vomit, and dared to look up.

There was a man looming over him. The man was clothed in long, ebony black Greek robes, silver sandals and a silver drape. His face was long, pale, with thin lips, a straight nose and dull, violet eyes. He wasn't unattractive. That is, if you didn't count as looking completely drained of life and color attractive.

"Who the bloody hell are you?" Bunny snarled, trying to get up. The snapped ankle bone would have none of it, so he stayed down and donned a glare instead.

"Is it really that difficult to guess?" The man huffed. Bunny's ears twitched. He could hear Sandy and North coming, probably wondering what he was doing that was taking so long.

The man spoke again, his voice deep and foreboding, and smooth as pouring mercury.

"I am Thanatos, God of Death. Deimos has sent me here."

* * *

"Mum! I _can't breathe!"_

Jack smiled as he watched Tooth enveloped Lifa in a motherly hug, crushing the air from her lungs. Lifa cracked a smile though, and hugged Tooth back. Tooth's own relieved, watery smile wavered as she felt only a singular arm wrap around her, not two. Jack stood behind Lifa and mouthed at Tooth, _She's okay. Don't worry._

Tooth looked at him gratefully, and released Lifa, cupping the girl's face in her hands, "No fever...You seem fine. No head trauma, amazingly..."

"Told you I was okay." Lifa smiled.

"Good. Don't you _ever _do something like that again, no matter how much you think you have to. You scared me to death!"

"Alright, alright, sheesh."

"I'll ground you forever if you disobey," Tooth smiled and kissed her forehead. Underneath that smile, Lifa knew she literally meant forever. "So why are we going to Canada?"

"Oh. My house resurrected itself there."

"What, is it in the mood for syrup now? Last time, it was in Japan."

"Japan is good. I like miso and sushimi."

Jack cleared his throat to get their attention, "Ahem. What do you mean your house resurrected itself? Wasn't it destroyed when I found you before Easter, ya know, deaf?"

"Well, yes, but it has a restoration spell on it. Generally permanent. It kind of fixes itself and reappears someplace for me to find it. Sometimes, It'll relocate if it comes under attack."

"Ah." Jack said, nodding, but not understanding.

Tooth had already returned to briefing all the fairies on what was happening. Lifa walked over the rail of the balcony, where they were standing. "Mum, Jack and I are gonna get a head start, okay?"

"That's fine, I'll catch up."

Jack climbed up on the rail, securing his staff to the strap on his quiver of bow and arrows. He still only had a couple of arrows left. Maybe he could get more soon. Taking Lifa's hand, he helped her onto the railing. After all, even if you're a one woman SWAT team, losing your arm can hinder your ability to climb with good balance. Lifa took his hand gratefully, unfurling her wings. Jack guessed the wingspan to be about...fifteen feet?

"Jack, before we take off, let me see the seal Bunny put on your staff."

Jack handed to her without arguing. For once, handing his staff to someone else didn't send off alarms in his head going _DON'T DO IT, THIS ONLY ENDS IN PAIN AND WE BOTH KNOW IT. _

"It's pretty simple...Just a circle, with runes written in it. The runes say "seal away the ice". Simple enough. This seal isn't permanent. It'll fade away on it's own, in about...two months at most. But don't try to force your powers. This kind of seal will fight back, and hurt you if you try to pass the limits it sets for you." Lifa explained, running her fingers over the markings. Jack shivered involuntarily. It wasn't that it hurt, but it just felt strange, and it made the back of his neck tingle uncomfortably. Lifa shot him a sympathetic look, and handed the staff back to him.

"You know Bunny hates himself for this."

"Yeah...I wish I could've told him it was okay, before we had to split up." Jack replied, strapping the staff back onto the quiver. "I...I shouldn't have...you know, screamed like that. It must have terrified him, and he was just trying to help us both."

"Come on, we'll talk while we fly," Lifa jumped off the rail, and her wings caught the air in a glide. Jack sailed along beside her. They both could fly at an easy, lazy speed. With the seal, Jack could only manage a speed barely above that. This wasn't as tiring, flying in a gentle glide. Jack rubbed his eyes wearily, "But I screamed bloody murder. I couldn't help it, honestly, I really..._can't _keep myself under control when someone messes with my staff."

"It's a piece of your soul, Jack. It's always going to be that way. No matter who it is, or what they're trying to do, someone even remotely damaging it is going to hurt like nobody's business. Don't kick yourself for not being able to do anything about it."

"Yeah, well...I still feel bad for Bunny. He'll just keep beating himself up over it, even when I tell him it's okay. I think he has a lot of self hate, or something like that."

"I wouldn't be surprised," Lifa muttered.

"Why?" Jack rolled over onto his back so that he flew under her. Unlike Lifa, Jack was nothing but aerodynamic. He could fly in any position, take off in nearly any stance, and not have a problem. Whereas, she needed to be able to keep the wind beneath her wings. Bonus? He just realized he didn't have to keep a distance from her while they flew. He could do what he was doing now, and even be less than a foot away.

Lifa sighed, "I don't think he's forgiven himself, ever, after the Pooka race was wiped out. I don't know much about it, but Bunny is the one who taught me Wicca. In order to do that, there has to be an exchange from our minds if I could be completely...enlightened."

"And...?"

"I did a little poking around...I'm naturally good with psychological magic, and scientifically extended magic. He honestly actually hates himself, a lot. For what happened to his wife and son. And...I felt his emotions. Gods, he loved Dahlia _so much. _And his son was his entire world. He never left his son alone, not once, and when he finally left, it was to fight in the war and...he came back a short time after just to see his family die. But that's just a part of it. My dominant element of magic is the soul, and mind."

Jack's eyebrows furrowed. Lifa took it as a prompting to go on.

"His soul is ripped in half. In Wicca, there's something called a muirn beatha dan. I don't know what it is or means, he kicked me out of his thoughts right then and didn't talk to me for a year and a half. But it has to do with a person's soul be completed and them being really, truly happy. Bunny lost his muirn beatha dan and...and he's _never _going to heal from that. Not completely."

Jack made a mental note to ask Bunny what muirn beatha dan meant. Lifa pronounced it like murn bee-ha dahn. "You know...I grew up Christian. Believing God was the one and true Lord. But now...I dunno. I don't believe he's not real, but now I just think maybe some things I were taught were just not right."

Lifa looked at him, and Jack half expected her to get annoyed with him, but instead, she looked understanding. "I grew up believing in the Norse gods, and trust me, they're real and they hate me."

"Huh. Greek and Norse...Wicca is witchcraft, but it isn't a bad thing, I'm guessing..."

"Eh, Well, depends on who's using it. Kind of like a gun. A gun can defend or kill someone, it depends who's got their finger on the trigger."

"...why do I get a feeling you have a gun of your own?" Jack groaned.

"I don't have a gun." she huffed.

Jack relaxed.

"I have a weapons vault, though."

And then Jack despaired.

* * *

The Warren was dead. Every blade of glass, each leave, branch, and blossom was practically dust. Everything was dull brown, and gray. Bunny had only ever been surrounded by so much death during the destruction of the Pooka clans.

The only highlight?

Thanatos was incredibly weak, being only brought back to life a few hours ago. North crossed swords with the Death God and sent him back to the Underworld easily. So, not much of a threat. But Bunny was devastated. Every egg, and plant was destroyed. His home was demolished. Not just that, but Jack's home, too...The stone walls stood high at the end of the Warren, making a little isolated spot. If Jack wanted to create a winter wonderland there, it wouldn't disturb the rest of the Warren. He'd be able to stay in the Warren, with Bunny, as if...To hell with it, as if he was his son. Sure, there was species difference, but that didn't matter. He loved Jack as much as he'd loved Essie, and after the staff incident, Bunny couldn't ever drive that sight or sound out of his head.

Remembering how Jack crumpled to the floor and writhed and twisted as he tried to ward off the pain, and shrieked as loud and long as his vocal chords and lungs could possibly allow...And Lifa's terrified face, when she'd glanced at Bunny, demanding to know what was wrong with Jack and both of them pleading for it to end, Lifa with her eyes and Jack with his cries.

And now his home was destroyed...

"Bunny. Are you hurt?"

Bunny blinked. North was kneeling down beside him. "You are not able to stand up." It wasn't a question. Bunny sighed,

"I broke my ankle. Actually, I think it's more like my shin...I'm fine, though. It was a clean break, no splinters or anything."

"You cannot walk. Sandy!" North stood up and called over to the Sandman, who was clearing away rubble to give them a way out. He floated over, forming a question mark over his head. North began to explain, "Bunny is injured, and he can't be on his feet. Can you carry him?"

"CARRY me? You're not bloody serio- CRIKEY!"

Bunny did not have a single word in the matter. Before he knew it, he was scooped up on a cloud of dream sand and all he could do was stammer, "N-not to h-high, ya g-got it?!"

They all set off for the rendezvous point, while North hummed cheerily. Bunny wouldn't have been so annoyed if it was the Canadian anthem over and over and _over._

_Oooh, Canadaa...My home and native laaand..._

* * *

Lifa, Jack and Tooth landed on the roof of her house. Lifa kicked open the sky-window and jumped in, landing on her feet. "Aw, I missed this place." she grinned. Jack and Tooth jumped down after her.

"Young lady, your organizing skills are awful..." Tooth muttered disapprovingly, eyeing the papers and books laying around. Jack just smiled. He liked the clutter. Music sheets and complicated science notes were what the papers were about. The books varied from Japanese to Celtic to Portuguese, in language. It suited Lifa, and showed just how brilliant her mind really was.

"I'm gonna keep an eye out for the other three," Tooth said. "You know, leave you two alone." she gave them both a knowing look and Jack averted his gaze, suddenly self conscious. Of course Tooth would notice something between them. After all, Lifa was wearing Jack's hoody. Jack actually preferred that she keep it. Jack watched Tooth leave the house and turned to Lifa.

"I'm gonna get started," she dashed over to a room with a heavy wooden door, and pulled it open. It lead outside, to...A forge?

"Lifa, what CAN'T you do?" Jack ran after her, staring around the room.

"Is that a real question or a compliment?" she asked, spreading a poster on the desk, and fumbling to get the pen in her hand. She'd lost her left arm. She was left handed. Jack stood behind her, fidgeting. "Both...what're you doing?"

"Designing my prosthetic." she began sketching.

"Um, if you were making a blue print, wouldn't not be something artsy? More mechanical?"

Lifa laughed lightly, "I can use magic. All I need is a basis for it, the materials, and the rest of it in my head. The hard part is attaching it to my shoulder. I'll need to use medical magic."

Jack leaned against the wall next to the desk, and raised his eyebrows at her. "Can you use real medical magic? Or just do that regenerative thing your powers do?"

"Just my powers. I need a real Wiccan healer." she bit her lip in that way she did when she was anxious. Jack thought it was cute, the little quirks and habits she had. At least they told him exactly what was going on with her. "Do you know one?" he asked.

"Yep. I'm pretty sure he's sort of adopted you as his son or something, you two are very close..."

For a minute, Jack was confused. Then it hit him. "Oh."

He instinctively clutched his staff closer to his chest, without meaning to. It was like his staff asked him to, and he obliged like a good friend. Jack knew who she meant.

"Bunny."

* * *

Bunny grumbled the entire way there. But when they finally arrived, he wished he was back on the journey, because he could see the frost on the windows, trailing in broken patterns. He knew Jack was there.

Bunny had just gotten off the dreamsand cloud, supported by Sandy holding his arm, when he was practically tackled by a streak of multicolored shades of greens, violets and golds. "BUNNY!"

"WHAT?!" he shouted the question desperately, demanding an explanation on why no one seemed to be able to respect his personal space. North chuckled, "I will go visit the young ones." he said.

Sandy perked up, an image of a sun over his head. He still hadn't gotten to speak to his best friend, and very much wanted to. Tooth released Bunny from her death grip hug, allowing the poor Pooka to breathe. "Bloody hell, Fairy...You've got a killer grip..."

But Tooth wasn't listening. She was watching Sandy and North enter the house, her face holding an expression of sadness and dread.

"Tooth? What's wrong?" Bunny glanced at her, then at the house.

"You'll see," she said quietly. "Come on, I'll help you set your ankle and heal it."

As Tooth helped Bunny through the door, they heard North shout in shock, "_WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO YOU?!"_

* * *

Jack placed his hand on Lifa's shoulder, while she stared at the desk, clenching her pen on her hand. Moving his hand, he pried her fist open, and laced his fingers through hers. Very quietly, he spoke. "Fearlings swarmed her. Tooth had to amputate her arm. But we're building her a prosthetic right now. We could use your help, North. You know mechanics."

North couldn't say a word. He and Sandy had been quite happy, looking forward to seeing their companions supposedly unharmed, and what he found was Lifa- _tiny, little Lifa- _missing her left arm. Sandy shot forward and hugged her tightly. Lifa smiled, "I'm okay, Sanderson. Really. It's good to see you, too."

Sandy's sand images flashed so quickly, the other three individual's eyes crossed. Lifa blinked, and shook her head. "North...Here's the measurements. I can't cut with only one arm. Can you go and get the pieces ready? Steel and chrome."

North took the blueprint, and said quietly, "Da."

He immediately got to work. That's all he could do. He couldn't look at Lifa, and not think of the word "cripple". She was far from it, he knew but still...

Some things were just too much to handle all at once.


	39. Chapter 39

**A/N a little more FrostBurn stuff, and then it's back to the original plot. Trying so hard not to get side tracked by my new ship _ It's one in the morning, and I have school tomorrow.**

**You better review, you little shits, I'm tired as fuck right now. Listen to me swear. This is bad. Key B. is grumpy. (i love you guys, seriously, but you owe me now neeeeeeeeeeh sleeeeeeeeeeeeeep)**

**I'm not joking. Debt. Debt to you all for my sacrificed slumber.**

* * *

Bunny stood in the study, arranging the right leaves, roots, and herbs on the table, mixing them together, crushing them in the mortar, and then labeling the mixture. He hadn't performed a spell like this in a long time.

Wiccan magic could be tricky. If you didn't have a natural talent for the type of magic in a complicated spell you were about to perform, it would go horrifically wrong. Bunny's special talent was healing and the earth. Saying "the earth" as a simple way of putting "every leaf, twig, vine, petal, blossom, root, tree, thorn, etc naturally links into his core". Healing magic was harder than earth magic. If he wasn't careful, he could end up turning the patient into a shrew or accidentally dissolving a few precious pieces of their skeleton.

Not that he'd ever done that, but still. Three thousand, eight hundred and forty seven years were a long time to go without magic like this. But this was an emergency.

He was preparing a surgical spell for Lifa. Not to attach the prosthetic limb North had built from the blueprints, but because her life was in danger now. Tooth had amputated the limb properly, he knew that. But there were large veins and arteries that had been severed in the process. It wasn't avoidable, so he didn't blame Tooth. But there was a surgery meant to follow after amputation, to reconstruct the the veins and arteries so the blood could flow properly.

Lifa hadn't had that surgery. Now, her blood was literally being backed up in her shoulder. Her shoulder had begun swelling up, becoming discolored and painfully achy. Jack had walked back into the room to see her slashing her shoulder open with her pocket knife, and Lifa had to explain to him that she actually _needed _to lose blood, or the pressure would make the veins and arteries burst altogether. Tooth had calmed Jack down by telling him Lifa was right, and she knew what she was doing.

Bunny had been listening from outside the room, and immediately gone to do what he was doing now. A simple reconstructive spell, but it was a lot different from all the other times he'd had to use it. Lifa was far smaller than a Pooka and than an average human, had a human body, and Bunny had never used magic on her before, nor any other remotely human anatomy.

In short, he wasn't entirely sure this spell would be all that effective. But it was the best one his rusty memory would cough up. He wouldn't have had such a rusty memory, if he hadn't spent a few years being alcoholic and depressed.

Tooth still gave him grief for that, and he didn't blame her for it. At least she understood why he'd fallen down in that ditch. After he'd driven the Fearlings responsible for the Pooka Clan slaughtering, he didn't know what else to do besides take care of Easter. So, he'd crank out the preparations and when Easter was over, he'd have a couple of months off.

That was where a bottle of whiskey and bad memories showed up.

But he had to make this work. It was the least he could do, for Lifa and Jack. He'd already failed to protect them several times, and failed Lifa for over two thousand years. That runt of a girl saved his sorry ass countless times and never asked for anything back.

"It's just one comrade to another," she'd say, "There are no debts in battle."

Well, now he owed Jack. He owed him for making decisions with Deimos without his consent, for hurting him, for weakening him, and now he was going to make up for it by helping Lifa, who Jack had become _very _attached to. Bunny had only glimpsed Jack once since he'd arrived, when he'd seen him walk into the room to discover Lifa's on-the-spot surgery fiasco, wearing his usual brown trousers, but a white t-shirt instead of his hoody. He probably wore the t-shirt under the hoody, but Bunny noticed Lifa was wearing the blue garment.

That definitely meant something. And if she was that special to Jack, Bunny was going to try and save the kid some heart ache. Bunny had lost enough loved ones to know even just getting close is terrifying enough to be scarred for life.

Bunny sighed. All the mixtures were done. Spreading out the powdery concoctions in a complicated circle, writing the runes and eventually forming a pentacle. Turning around, he picked up the athame, and testing the blades sharpness against the edge of the table. He hated spells like these, the kind that involved opening a person up for it to work. He'd have to slash her shoulder open for it to even take effect. It'd be a very painful process, moving skin and muscle tissue about.

"Bunny?"

He turned around to see Tooth poking her head through the door. "Are you...?"

"Ready? As I'll ever be. Bring her in."

Bunny stopped Tooth before she walked out, and added, "Don't tell Snowflake. He'll just freak out."

Tooth didn't argue. The current time? Eleven at night. Bunny had been working on the spell for over Jack was fast asleep on the roof, trying to keep out of everyone's way. It was best to let him sleep until this was over.

"Sounds fine to me." she muttered.

* * *

Lifa walked inside, wearing her white satin pajamas and wearing a stoic look on her face.

"Just lay down in the middle of the circle, and take deep breaths. Ya gotta keep calm, or the spell might back fire on us."

Lifa did exactly as he said, waiting patiently. Tooth stood off to the side, holding the metal arm. As soon as this spell was over, it would jump right into attaching the limb. Of course, there was building in the metal and electrically wired socket into her shoulder to hold the thing. They were going to accomplish this in one hour, at the least.

"Ready?" Bunny asked, cutting off the sleeve from her pajama shirt to expose her shoulder, and unwrapping the bandages.

Lifa gritted her teeth, relaxed and then nodded.

Bunny knelt down and tapped his paw against a few runes, which all began to glow green. Soon, they turned to a bright, golden color, corresponding to the subject of the spell.

"Deep breath, Sunny. Be a tough girl for us now, okay?"

The room filled with blinding light and that's when Bunny brought the athame down on her shoulder, slicing it open. Blood flowed for only a few seconds before the magic rushed into the wound and began it's work.

Lifa stiffened, biting her lip and letting her scream of pain only come out in an almost inaudible whine.

After what seemed like hours, but was only about twenty minutes, Bunny set down the mechanical pieces in order next to her shoulder. Soon, they fused together. Bunny clapped his paw over her mouth to stifle her scream. He knew she'd hate herself later for it, especially since Jack was right over their heads and would surely have heard it.

Lifa regained control and Bunny stepped back, and knelt back down outside the circle, and continued murmuring in Gaelic to keep the magic's flow steady.

Ten minutes...

Thirty...

Fifty...

An hour and ten...

Time ticked by as the spell completed itself. As soon as the light died away, Bunny keeled over on the spot, fast asleep on the floor and snoring loudly. Sandy poked his head through the door to see Lifa trying to sit up and groaning and cursing. Sandy frowned disapprovingly and floated into the room, and waved Tooth and North in after him.

"It was...successful?" North ventured, helping Bunny sit up and making sure he was still breathing. Of course he was, he wouldn't be snoring if he wasn't. So, North tossed him onto his shoulder like a sack of flour to go dump him on the couch. Where else could he sleep, anyway?

"Yes," Lifa croaked. Tooth and Sandy knelt beside her. Lifa blinked slowly, exhausted, and gratefully leaned against Tooth when the fairy hugged her. Sandy offered her some dream sand, but she shook her head no.

"I can move it." she smile, raising the metal limb, and doing a test punch in the air, curling each finger experimentally. Everything was perfect, the design flawless. "I'm back in action."

Sandy began miming a bed, some z's, and then a lightning bolt shocking a person.

Tooth understood, "Sandy is right. You need to rest, or your body will go into shock."

"No, I'm fine! Honestly, my powers take care of stuff like that." she began to stand on wobbling legs. All Sandy and Tooth could do was make sure she didn't fall over. North shook his head, and turned around, carrying Bunny out of the room, and calling over his shoulder,

"Just let her do as she wants. She is too stubborn."

Tooth sighed, "He's right. Alright, what do you want to do?"

Lifa frowned for a moment. Then she glanced over at Sandy, who made an sand arrow pointing up at the ceiling, and then a snowflake.

She smiled, "Yeah. Sounds like a plan."

* * *

Jack opened his eyes and sat up, rubbing his eyes with the heel of his hand to wake himself up. He was wearing simple, dark blue checkered pajama's that Lifa had conjured up with some magic from her fabric supply. Some science stuff about cotton and flannel and stuff like that. He liked them, actually, having real pajamas to wear. A nice change from the same clothes for decades. He was also laying on a fluffy white blanket, spread over the light dusting of snow on the roof. He'd fallen asleep with the snow drifting down, just barely.

He could hear someone climbing into the roof. At first, he was confused. Too light to be North or Bunny, and it couldn't have been Tooth or Sandy, they would've just flown or floated up. He was surprised when a chocolate-colored haired head poked over the edge of the roof and clambered up, clad in white satin pajama's and a red checkered shawl wrapped around her shoulders.

And a metal hand held the shawl in place.

"S-Su-Sunshine! Your arm...?!" He stammered.

"Yep. Successful spell. Tooth is gonna spar with me tomorrow, so I get used to it." she walked over and stood in over him. "Can I sit with you?"

"Be my guest."

Lifa plunked down beside him, and rested her arms on top of her knees and her chin on her arms. For a while, they both sat in silence. Jack finally broke it, "So you have a new arm."

"Yep."

"You...you can practice fighting now?"

"Uh huh."

Jack fell silent again. The last thing he wanted was to have her thrown back among Fearlings again, or anywhere near Deimos. Last time, she didn't come away intact. She'd been mortally injured, put through hell, and now she didn't even give a damn that she was going back in.

"We're going to war in a few days, Jack." Lifa mumbled.

Jack hated the way things were going. Everything was too depressing, heavy-hearted and dread filled. "Hey, you want to see my favorite thing about snow?"

"Huh? That's random." she gave him a funny look. Jack just smiled, and lay back, and pulled her down next to him.

"Just look up for a while."

Lifa did, watching the sky. After a while, big, fat heavy snowflakes began drifting down one after another. Sure, standing up, it was beautiful. But laying down, watching them fall like this...It was so much better. Scooting closer to Jack, she smiled. "I never really liked winter. Considering it was always winter on Berk, you didn't have to like it. You'd get frostbite on your spleen one way or another."

Jack laughed, "Don't blame me."

"I didn't say I was," she smirked, "Just lightly insinuating..."

"I don't know what insinuating means. You and your big words."

"Big words? I think commodious nomenclature is a better statement."

Jack opened his mouth to respond and then closed it. He knew he'd just make himself sound stupid, anyway. Lifa laughed, and lay her head against his chest, "Hey, I've been around a while. You learn stuff."

"I'm a dunce. I won't learn anything," he grumbled, putting his arm around her.

"Dunce. See, good word. And you're not stupid, Jack. Sure, you were illiterate up until a couple of weeks ago, but you're clever and quick witted. That makes up for it. Your mind just needs...um...molding?"

"You make my mind sound like wet clay."

"Frozen clay."

"Ha ha...Very funny."

"You have terrible self esteem." she brushed a snowflake off her cheek. Jack glanced at her, and noticed the thick, beautifully crystalline flakes settling in her dark hair, like a veil or a tiara. Bright white against deep, dark coppery browns.

"Well, you're pretty arrogant, maybe it'll rub off on me." he grinned.

"Oh, wonderful..." she mumbled. "Then you'll never shut up and you'll get all bossy and-"

Jack cut her off by leaning over and kissing her.

He wasn't sure why he did it. He just really wanted to. Maybe it was because he was so sleepy and wasn't thinking very clearly, or because he just wanted to pay her back for that kiss yesterday. Maybe it was the snowflakes in her hair and thick, dark eyelashes that drew his interest. Who cares? He'd done it, and before he knew it, she was kissing him back. It last for a few seconds until they both finally pulled apart, equally stunned. Jack began to speak quietly, "You need to promise me you won't pull any stupid stunts again."

She just frowned at him, not sure if he was being serious or not. But Jack was dead serious. His face said it all. Jack reached over and cuped her face in his hands so she couldn't avoid looking at him. He kept talking, "It's not your job to do those things. Not everything falls on you. I'll help, I promise but _you cannot get hurt anymore."_

He said the last five words so desperately, she was shocked. But never, _ever _had she been told this. All her life, she'd had massive responsibilities thrown onto her shoulders, human life and immortal. And she'd given up so much to step up to it. According to Jack, now was not the same thing. She didn't have thousands of lives depending on her actions, her decisions, her wit, her strength, and her mental stability.

Lifa had never been allowed a moment's rest, to be able to break down and cry when she needed to, or to scream and punch things to pieces when the anger and frustration became to much. She couldn't just be good enough. She had to be above and beyond, know every language in the world, and how to handle everything. That's what it took to fight the darkness.

She didn't have superiors to go to for help. She _was _the superior, on her own.

And Jack was telling to take all that and dump it in the pile labeled "Load of Bullshit" and accept it.

"I can't." she finally whispered. "I can't."

"Why not?" he demanded. "Give me a reason! Why can't you just depend on someone else for once? I'm...I'm your boyfriend, aren't I? You said so! Don't you trust me?"

Lifa bit her lip unhappily. "I do trust you. I d-dunno why b-but...I just do. And I've never _not _had to handle everything on my own."

"You're not serious."

"I am." her voice cracked, and she cringed at herself sounding so pitiful. Jack looked enraged, and concerned and confused all at once. It scared her a little bit.

"It's simple. Just let me look after you. If you need help, shout for me, okay?" he hugged her tightly against his chest, as if that could ward off everything evil and malicious from her. "I'll be there in a millisecond."

Lifa didn't believe him. Honestly, she didn't. But she trusted him, if that made sense. "Promise?"

"Promise."

She sighed contentedly, closing her eyes and snuggling closer to him. It felt so good, after being alone for two thousand and a half years, to be close to someone. _Ba-dump ba-dump ba-dump._

She fell asleep to the sound of his heart beat, pounding in sync to her own.

* * *

Jack stayed awake long after Lifa had fallen asleep, thinking. Now that he had someone he thought he might actually love, all he wanted to do was make sure he didn't lose her. Not like his father, the rest of his family, or others he'd stood by and had to watch their deaths when he'd been invisible.

He was not going to be useless if Lifa was ever in danger, not again.

* * *

Phobos gazed up at the roof at the lovey-dovey boy and girl. White hair, and brown hair. He scowled. Love. A load of horse shit, that's what he had to say about it. But it had it's uses, creating fears for loved ones. He crept through the window silently into the house. He wasn't here for them. He was here for something else. Landing lightly on the floor, he gazed around the room until he saw a figure sleeping peacefully in the bed. Drawing his slightly serrated, eighteen inch knife, he moved silently forward.

Lunging, he wrapped his arm over the neck of the poor victim, silencing her voice. Slashing the knife four times fast, he tore of the delicate looking wings into being useless. Slamming the butt of his sword against Toothiana's temple, he let her fall unconscious onto the bed again as her wings bled weakly, torn and ragged.

A downed fairy is a dead fairy, he always said. Now for the next victim.

Slipping through the door, he moved so slowly, a clock's minute hand was faster. So silent, so slow, so stealthily, he was like the shadow of Death itself.

Death. How pathetic. The pitiful copy of the once great immortal had been nothing but a ploy to cripple his next target. Phobos drifted to the couch where the silvery-coated Pooka lay snoring. Not even his highly sensitive, over sized ears heard him. Phobos pulled out a small, golf ball sized sphere from the pocket of his leather jacket. It was a magic pearl, that swirled a murky black.

A transportation device. Crush it, it takes you to it's designated destination. Phobos prepared to smash the pearl with two paws locked around his throat, one threatening to crush his larynx, the other seizing his hand and holding his fingers in place, to stop him from crushing the sphere. Bright, grass green eyes glared at him.

"I couldn't hear you, but I could certainly smell your stench, brat." he snarled.

Phobos grinned. "You left my feet free, dumb ass."

Phobos kicked Bunny hard, right into his broken ankle. Pain resonated despite the brace that was supposed to help it heal and Bunny howled in pain. In response, he threw Phobos across the room, smashing the coffee table.

* * *

Jack heard the smashing, and began to try and wake Lifa, but she wouldn't respond. She moaned quietly in her sleep, as if in pain or discomfort. Jack pulled the blanket over her, and jumped to his feet. She was safe up here, no Fearlings around, out of sight and out of harm's way. Jack jumped off the roof to investigate the commotion.

* * *

Bunny's knees buckled from the pain. Ugh, that was embarrassing. He was getting old. Where the hell was his back up?

Jack came bursting through the window. _Oh, there it is. His adopted son coming into the death fight. Yippee._

North and Sandy didn't come. Phobos was getting up. Bunny was on his knees. Lifa couldn't wake up. Where was Tooth? How did Phobos find them?

Phobos' knife changed shape into a crossbow, with a thick, deadly arrow poised on it. "You were supposed to be a hostage, but I can kill you instead."

Bunny's head shot up and his eyes began to glow a soft green light, building up magic. Jack knew several things at that moment.

One, Bunny did not have remotely enough magic to do anything, let alone summon , Arrows on an extremely powerful crossbow were faster than magic from an exhausted Wiccan. Three, Jack could move once, and only once to save Bunny from being impaled.

The crossbow fired, Phobos laughed, Bunny cursed, and Jack lunged forward, shouting, "**_NO!"_**

Bunny's shock turned to horror when he realized what Jack had done.


	40. Chapter 40

**A/N for Guest-  
Yeah, I didn't plan on them getting together in the first place, ever. But I got a lot of demands on my tumblr and on here, too, so I decided if so many people supported the idea, I would give it a shot. I'm trying really hard not to let the romance dominate the story, though. Romance is really not my writing area, so I'm kind of walking on a very skinny, dead branch every time I try to climb my way to the next plot development when it comes to the FrostBurn pairing. But Lifa is essentially a cold blooded warrior, and Jack is a softie, compared to her.**

**It might not work out, because they're such polar opposites. I'm not foreshadowing anything, because I'm kind of improvising every single chapter as I go with the FrostBurn thing. Because of Lifa's character, I can't just jump into her already loving Jack. In the beginning, all she wanted to do was throw her shield at his head. (FIFTY POUND BRONZE FRISBEE ouch) Or some other violent thing. Jack still isn't her priority, and she is very arrogant. Even selfish, sometimes, however much she may sacrifice in battle, when it comes to social situations? She's bitchy, hot tempered and going off half cocked all the time. Unlike Jack, she can't keep quiet. Jack would just pull his hood up and become passive, choosing his battles carefully, with common sense. Lifa? She'd freaking pull out her knife and threaten to cut a person's tongue out on the spot if they offended her the tiniest bit.**

**I don't think this is the best pairing, either, but I'm just experimenting. So if you're worried about it becoming too big of a part in the story, don't be. It's still a fighting-in-a-war plot. In fact, I chose the romance idea for a specific plot device...Which will be revealed here. Enjoy!**

* * *

_Crossbow fires._

_Jack screams, "NO!"_

_Bunny's heart plummets all the way down to his feet._

_Everything is in slow motion until a loud "thud" resonates through the sudden silence._

* * *

Jack's breath hitched in his throat and stopped in his lungs when the arrow impaled his right shoulder blade, coming in at an angle. Luckily, it missed his heart, being on the right side. But it pierced his lung, and wedged the shoulder blade in place so he couldn't move it. He hit the floor with a thud, choking and wheezing as he tried to breathe.

But he was glad he'd been hit. It was his intention in the first place, to put himself between the arrow and Bunny. If he hadn't, it would've gotten the Pooka right between the eyes.

Jack lay there on his side, his chest heaving. His vision blurred, and his hearing became fuzzy. He heard Bunny scream his name, and the scrape of feet moving on the wood floor as Bunny scrambled forward to his aid. Phobos laughed, "You're all the same! Taking hits for each other! Just like that pathetic, gold eyed little runt, using herself as bait to Fearlings to save two useless Guardians!"

Jack felt like a wild fire had just exploded inside him. He'd just called Lifa pathetic, and she was far from it. Bunny ignored Phobos, and carefully pulled Jack into his arms, "Come on, Snowflake, talk to me...don't you dare be dead..."

Jack opened his mouth to speak, but stopped at Bunny's horrified expression. He didn't know why he looked so scared. But then Jack's body convulsed and shuddered, and Jack coughed raucously. His mouth filled with the taste of copper, accompanied by a disgustingly salty and sweet flavor with it. He coughed more until all he could do was gurgle and wheeze through the crimson pooling in his throat and mouth.

Phobos snickered quietly as he loaded another arrow onto the crossbow. "Pitiful."

"B-Bun-" Jack began but he convulsed again and retched violently, blood spilling over his lips and chin, down his neck, and onto his shirt front.

"Don't talk. Just...Just breathe. No matter what, do not stop breathing." Bunny pleaded, getting to his feet, "W-we're getting out of here."

"Oh? You're just going to walk out?" Phobos sneered, his hauntingly blood colored eyes burning their gaze at the two.

_I have no magic. I have no weapons. If I stay, we'll both die. So yes, I'm walking out. _Bunny thought, turning around, cradling Jack's shuddering form as the teenager struggled to breathe. Only wet, bloody gurgling escaped his lips. Air hardly made it in and out.

Phobos cackled again, "Fine! I like a moving target."

Bunny began to walk forward, as fast as he could with a broken ankle and being on the cusp of passing out from being drained from magic.

_Thud._

Bunny lurched forward as the first arrow impaled his upper arm.

* * *

Lifa didn't want to sleep. She kept cursing at herself to wake up, but darkness threatened to overwhelm her. But finally, she jolted awake and surged to her feet. She'd been awake at night, for so often this week, and she'd just been through so much, that her body had simply given out. Her head reeled with nausea, and her vision blurred and spun. Nothing was in focus.

That was until everything kicked into battle-ready mode.

Bare foot, in her white pajamas, and a red, checkered flannel shawl wrapped over her shoulders, she didn't make a very threatening target the young man who stood before her, hands clasped behind his back with a polite, yet eerie and faint smile on his lips.

"I'm sorry, Lady Haddock. You're in your sleep attire. I should have asked if you were decent before coming to see you," Deimos cocked his head at her, looking her up and down.

Lifa shivered, and took a step back. Why did she come onto the roof with no weapons?

Well, of course she didn't bring a weapon, she had been coming up to see Jack. She had a very, _very _short list of other individuals whom she didn't feel the need to have a weapon on her person in their presence. Meaning, Jack and Tooth only.

Sandy? Well, he was always watching where his dream sand traveled...A shield is a weapon.

Bunny? He lashes out unexpectedly.

North? Uhh...well, he was seven feet tall and just threatening in general, despite the fact that he's about as soft as a marshmallow.

Jack? He wouldn't hurt her, and even if he did, she could judo throw the guy five yards away and probably end up breaking his ribs in the process.

Tooth? She'd never won a fight against her, anyway...And she's basically her mum, so...yes.

Lifa assumed a fighting stance, to defend herself, but Deimos just chuckled. "Oh, I'm not here to fight. I'm here to make a deal."

"Oh? What makes you think I'll make a deal with you?"

"Why not? We work well together. We both have the ability to thrive and survive in the trenches of war, blood, monsters and darkness. You are still here, are you not? This life you think you want, a peaceful one, happy, with Jack and the Guardians? It is not your story. It never was, and it never will be. The story you have lived until now is where you belong in fate." he nearly snarled the words, but it couldn't be called snarling if he was smiling lightly.

Lifa hated that smile of his. She hated his face, his hair, his eyes, the way he stood and spoke, his voice, she _loathed _him. All she wanted to do was run her sword through is stomach and rip it all the way up through the top of his head.

"Yeah? Well, I think this "Lifa the War Queen" story is _shit!" _she growled, "It is _not fun _and it is not easy, it is a river of _crap _and pain that would send anyone else **_SHRIEKING _****_TO THE NUT HOUSE!"_**

Her voice changed, becoming colder and like stones being thrown at the receiver of the words. Her slightly raspy, deeper toned voice remained, still feminine but it's pleasantry gone. It would make anyone cringe in fear and try to get away from her. "My JOB is not to help you, or to make deals with you. It isn't just to protect _children, **I HAVE TO PROTECT EVERYBODY!" **_

Deimos' smile vanished. "Oh...? You take on that responsibility? How do you even drag yourself out of bed at dawn?"

Huh. Well, she never had an answer to that question. She marched up to him, and seized him by the front of the coat so quickly, even he was surprised when she yanked him down so he was leaning to eye level with her.

"I don't give a shit that you're a god, how powerful you are, or that you're the "embodiment of terror" and have darkness and shadows at your command!"

Deimos laughed, and seized her arms, forcing her grip to let go, and yanking her arms above her head, pulling her three inches off the ground. "I know you don't dare. In fact, you couldn't care less about yourself or me! But you do care about others."

Lifa ceased her struggling, freezing. "No..."

"Yes! Do you know what a fatal flaw is, dear one? It's your greatest weakness. Your's is love." he snickered, "The people you love are your weakness. Your love for them is stronger than any other love, because you don't love yourself. You hate yourself! That leaves more room for others. And now, it's your downfall."

Deimos let her go, and Lifa collapsed on her hands and knees, eyes wide and trembling in rage and terror.

* * *

"WHY WON'T YOU JUST GIVE UP?!" Phobos shrieked from a distance away.

Bunny had made it out of the house, and into the woods, through the back door. Huddled behind a tree, he was still hugging Jack, who'd long since fallen into a half conscious state, stiff as a board and his breath coming out in broken, shallow wheezes. Phobos was hunting for them. Three arrows were embedded in Bunny's arm, shoulder and back. Thankfully, his thick fur kept them from piercing too deep.

Every time Phobos had shot him, Bunny refused to fall to his knees or stop walking. He was going to get Jack out of there, and he didn't care how many knives or arrows the bratty god threw at him.

Jack began to mumble and groan pitifully, and Bunny clapped his paw over the teen's mouth to keep him quiet. If Phobos heard, they were dead. Jack's voice died away and he went limp as a rag doll. Bunny panicked and strained to hear his heart beat.

_Ba-dump...ba-dump...ba...ba-dump...ba-d..._

"Don't you dare fade out on me, Snowflake." Bunny growled, trying not to sound as terrified as he was. "Don't you dare!"

* * *

"Your precious village, kingdom and family...All gone and destroyed, even after all you gave for them. And now, your new family and precious Winter Prince are on the cusp of being slaughtered because of you." he crowed, taking sheer pleasure in her anguish.

He let that sink in for a moment, then knelt down and whispered in her ear, "If I cannot make you join me, then I will keep you from fighting against me."

Seizing her face in his hand, his fingers gripping her cheeks none-to-gently, he murmured very low and dark, "If you fight, I will skin the rabbit alive and make him into a coat. If you plot, I'll slice the fairy's wings off and pitch her off the highest peak on Earth. If you help the Guardians, I'll gouge Saint Nick's "wonder filled" eyes out and leave him blind for the rest of his life. And..."

His cold, sadistic smile returned. "I don't care what you do. The tiniest interference, and the Winter Guardian will die burning in the fires of Tartarus, screaming and pleading. Do you understand, _dear one_?"

Lifa's eyes stung with tears, but they didn't fall. She refused to, at least not yet. "I understand," her voice barely registered.

Deimos stood, letting her go. "Lovely! Well, I'm glad we had this chat." he turned around, and called out over the roof, "Brother! It's time to go!"

As the two gods regrouped, Deimos' smile turned into a terrifying grin. They both left Lifa on the roof, shivering on her hands and knees, and Bunny in the woods with a bleeding-to-death Jack.

Lifa got to her feet, trembling. Climbing down the roof, she went to the back door, about to go inside until she saw the thick trail of blood, half frozen into crimson ice.

"Oh, Thor, _no!" _She took off sprinting into the woods, skidding on the leaves and frost. She had to find them. Now, right this second. All that blood...Lifa nearly ran past them.

Spinning around, she saw them huddled in the roots of a tree, Bunny trying to keep Jack upright so he could breathe. A futile effort, with an arrow through the right side of his chest. Lifa took off running again towards them, "ASTER! JACK!"

Bunny's head snapped up. "Eh...?"

Lifa skidded to a stop on her knees, "Son of a bitch," she muttered when she saw Jack. "Give him to me!" she ordered.

Bunny didn't argue, passing Jack's limp body over to her. Jack moaned and cried out in pain and protest, but Lifa made him sit up. "I'm sorry about this, Jack." She whispered, closing her fist around the arrow shaft. Snapping it, and then seizing the other end with incredible speed, she ripped it out of his body. Jack's response was to go rigid once again, and screech in agony, and begin to thrash and struggle. Bunny held him down, shouting at him to stay calm, take deep breaths, and the like.

Lifa took a deep breath. It was night time. There was no sunlight. She had barely any power, she was seriously drained almost to nothing.

It was worth a shot.

"The arrow impaled his right lung. He's going to bleed to death within a couple of minutes." she folded her hands over the wound. Blood gushed between her fingers, and she shuddered involuntarily. Jack's chest shuddered and struggled to drag in air. She could feel every hitch, problem and broken breath beneath her hands.

Closing her eyes, Lifa's hand began to glow. Just her right. The left one, the steel, did not. Bunny blinked, and opened his mouth to protest. But then he realized Jack's breathing was easing already.

Ten minutes passed, and all three grew silent. Bunny's heart nearly stopped when Jack's chest stopped rising and falling. Lifa swayed back and forth, on danger of keeling over. One more burst of light...

Jack heaved in air, gasping, coughing and choking. At the same moment, Lifa crumpled to the ground, her energy spent.

_Wonderful. Let's take inventory, shall we?_ _We're all comatose. _She thought hazily. No, wait, she was wrong. Jack was getting up. At first, he stumbled, but then Lifa could see him shaking Bunny awake, and then hunting around for a moment, and resurfacing with a long stick as a walking stick for the injured Pooka.

Her vision tilted horribly and she resisted the powerful urge to roll over and be sick. She might have blacked out for a moment, because when she opened her eyes again, someone was carrying her. Cool, thin arms. Jack was carrying her back to the house. _Idiot, I just saved you from bleeding to death. Sit down for a minute, can't you?!_

Lifa shivered. Her head was spinning uncontrollably, and it seemed as if every muscle in her body had no energy left. And her emotions had gone hay wire. She was terrified for the Guardians, she didn't know what to do, and she didn't even know where to begin. But she didn't even get to think about it, because as seconds ticked by, her consciousness slipped away.

Lifa would not wake up for a long time.

* * *

**A/N I'm getting a little sick of my OC, and I'm going for a Jack and Bunny centered chapter next. **

**No offense, Lifa, I love you but I can only handle so much of your psychological issues, please don't kill me with a viking ax...You're taking a break for a while.**

**Recap- Deimos and Phobos infiltrated the house, took Sandy and North hostage, brutally injured Tooth and rendered her flightless, attempted to kidnap Bunny and murder Jack (all Phobos) and then Deimos terrorized and essentially destroyed Lifa's mind. Lifa heals Jack, and now her powers are kaput for a while.**

**I'm probably gonna bring Jamie into the story soon. Yes? No? TELL ME**


	41. Chapter 41

**A/N FYI, I have not read the books (I'm going to very soon, when I get a new library card. My school doesn't have them -_- dammit middle school) But thanks to tumblr, I have a good hold on the backgrounds, except I dunno who Nightlight is but I like his hair and can't wait to read the books to find out who he is. Anyway, I've heard of the Golden Army, and I didn't look up anything on it. I'm gonna make up my own version of it. A bit like keyblade masters (PUN) if you would so allow it to be. Ta da, here we go!**

* * *

Jack pulled the heavy, beautifully embroidered quilt over Lifa, covering her up to her chin, and making sure she was comfortable. On the other side of the wall, he could hear the quiet sound of a drawer opening and closing as Bunny retrieved and returned the medical supplies for Tooth.

Jack had nearly broken down on the spot when they'd found her, with a possible concussion and her wings torn up and useless. But Bunny had squared his shoulders and told him to take care of Sunny, and he would take care of Tooth. And that's exactly what they were doing. Jack would've been calmer, knowing Bunny could very well help Tooth, and Lifa was so, and so was he and Bunny. But he was angrier than he'd ever been in his life. They were supposed to be safe here, but obviously, that was not the case. Why couldn't they just get a break from the two gods?

Not only that, but Bunny hadn't spoken to him once since they'd arrived in the first place. He slipped out of the room whenever Jack came around, and he'd still barely said a word to him. To add to the foul mix, Lifa had bruises on her face, and wrist, and finger prints on her steel prosthetic. That meant someone had basically manhandled her, while he was gurgling blood helplessly. And then she'd healed him.

Jack clenched his fists against his chest, over each scar. The collar bone wound, and the arrow wound, still freshly pink and aching tenderly but healing by the minute.

"I told you no more stupid stunts," he growled, "And you didn't remotely even listen to me. Is this how it's always going to be between us?!"

Lifa, of course, remained asleep. Jack could only stand by the bed and gaze at her. Noticing her long eyelashes, each freckle, how pale she was from being drained, and how..._vulnerable _this last battle had made her. The faint bruises on her cheeks that resembled a hand print. Jack blinked when she tensed in her sleep and let out a barely audible cry. Jack initially thought she was in pain, but realized she was just scared.

"It's okay, Sunburn." he plunked down on the edge of the bed next to her, and tucked her hair back behind her ear. "I'm right here. No being scared when the Guardian of Fun is around, okay? Come on...tell me what's wrong."

Jack waited, and Lifa flinched away from his hand suddenly. He pulled back, nervous he was just scaring her more by unwanted contact, but then he realized that she was mumbling incoherently in her unconscious state. Jack leaned forward, straining to hear. But he only caught one word, and pure hatred surged through him.

_Deimos._

He hated the damn creep. He acted so noble and polite, but Jack knew he was nothing but a manipulative, sadistic bastard who for some reason insisted on targeting Lifa, almost obsessively. But this? Actually physically laying his hands on her and leaving bruises and then terrorizing her to the point where her mind was still actively afraid enough to have her _rambling out loud__ while she's in a coma?!_

This was over the line. Jack couldn't imagine how she felt, constantly on her own, with so many weights dropped on her shoulders and then finally on the cusp of her biggest break down. But what he really wanted to know was what she had to do before she'd had her memories erased. What exactly was the war she'd fought?

* * *

Bunny tucked Tooth in, and left a cup on water on the side table, with some saltine crackers. Having some head damage meant being dizzy, and the only thing she could probably choke down would be water and crackers. Bunny had chosen the thinnest needle and strongest, thinnest thread he could find and stitched her wings the best he could. He reckoned he'd done a good job. The blow to her temple left harsh bruising, but the skull wasn't damaged, thank MiM.

Bunny stumbled out of the room into the next guest room. _Goddess, I think her house has an extending charm on it. It's bigger on the inside! _He thought blearily. That was some powerful magic. Physics, science and psychology. Lifa's strong points. Oh yes, physics physics physics, she could go on about them all day. Opening the door, it was just a simple room with a wardrobe, table with a wash basin, towel, mirror and a bed. Bunny all but face planted onto the mattress. His broken ankle was giving him hell, he was half dead from so much magic being used, and he was just _tired._

Curling up in the quilt like he would in a normal rabbit's nest, he began to drift off. But he was pulled back from sleep's grip when he heard the door creak open and someone croak, "Bunny? A-are you awake?"

"I am now," he mumbled, trying to sit up. Blinking, he saw Jack shuffling into the room, clutching his staff and tapping his fingers against the wood like he did when he got especially worried. Bunny's heart plummeted at the sight of the wooden relic.

"Are you okay, Jackie?"

Jack's shoulders slumped. He wasn't sure. It was so much all at once, knocking around in his head, every emotion, question and thought battling for dominance to get his attention to torment him. Even his entire body hurt. The seal on his staff ached dully, his shoulder was tenderly sore from the risky healing session, and he felt ready to just drop on the floor and sleep for years. Add his intense rage against Deimos and worry for Lifa into that cesspool. Finally, he mumbled, "No...No, I'm not."

Bunny stood up, and swallowed nervously, trying to find words. "Jack...About the seal, and your staff. I'm sor-"

"You're still worried about that? Bunny, you couldn't have done anything." Jack laughed humorlessly, "It'll hurt no matter what you do. You didn't have a choice, anyway. I mean, you did it to protect me, right?"

Bunny began to wander to and fro, pacing back and forth. "Yeah...The alternative was having you taken away again. And after the last time...I just couldn't go through it again. And Deimos said he'd just lock you up in the dark, and leave you...alone, to say the least."

Jack flinched at the word "alone". Bunny knew full well how much he feared being ignored, forgotten and unloved. To be alone, and unwanted. And he never, ever wanted to see the teenager so broken down by that loneliness ever again. Jack stared at the floor. Finally, he mumbled, "Thank you."

"Eh?"

Jack lifted his head, "I said thank you. For understanding. I...I would take having my staff torn to pieces or burnt to a crisp, rather than...than b-being a-al-alone." his voice quaked.

Every single knot of worry and guilt melted away and Bunny held out his arms, "Alright, come 'ere, Snowflake."

Jack all but launched himself forward and hugged his adopted father tightly, shaking like a wet kitten. Bunny hugged him tightly, murmuring, "You're okay, Jackie. Tooth is fine, Lifa is getting better, and we'll find North and Sandy. The godly brat is gone. We're okay. Nothin' to worry about now."

Jack fell silent. He knew all those things. It felt great to have them confirmed, but that wasn't what he was afraid of. He was afraid of himself, of what he was going to do. He blurted out, "Bunny, I-I think I'm g-going to _k-kill _someone."

"What?! Frostbite, you're as capable of killing as a butterfly on a marshmallow!"

Jack laughed a little at that. "Thanks, but I don't think you quite understand...Deimos was here, too. He went after Sunshine _again!"_

"Oh, I forgot you and her were together." Bunny remembered.

Jack pulled out of the hug, and clenched his fists in his hair, pacing back and forth. "She's got bruises! On her arm, and face. Hand shaped bruises. He did that! And she's scared out of her mind, in a coma and she can't hear me, so I can't talk to her to help her stop being afraid!" Jack turned around and reached over to his side, for his sword, but then remembered it wasn't there. "He just won't leave her alone, Bunny. She's _traumatized. _If I ever see him again, I'll skewer him!"

Bunny watched in silence. He'd seen this before. Loved one gets hurt, the person lashes out in vengeance. "Jack...Getting even doesn't end well."

"This isn't getting even, this is justice and doing the world a favor!"

"Uh huh. That's what I thought when I ran around slaughtering Fearlings as soon as I was made immortal, in the name of my race and family. It didn't do any good. Fearlings will only find a new place to haunt...I just ended up killing half of 'em and sending the rest to the next world." Bunny sat down on the bed again, his ears flattened and shoulders tense from guilt. Mumbling the last few words, "I ruined Sunny's life that way..."

"Next...World?" Jack frowned. He didn't hear the last few words Bunny had said. "There are other worlds?"

"Of course there are. Heaven, Hell, the Summerlands, Underworld, Olympus, and few others only Lifa and Kosmotis knew about." Bunny began to explain, "It's hard to put it in words. If I had to explain it...Errr...Umm...Okay, I'll just tell you what Sunny told me. Imagine our world as a bubble word. A big bubble. Now imagine, out of our sight, in secret, there are other bubbles hanging around the universe. In between the lines, of course, so we can't see them."

Jack sat down in the floor in front of Bunny, officially intrigued. "So how do you know about them? And what are the Summerlands?"

Bunny's smile faltered. "The Summerlands is what you would call Heaven. It's where good Wiccan souls go after they die. Dahlia and Essie are there now."

"Heaven is real, then...?" Jack asked, hesitating.

"Yes. Everything is. You go where you believe you should."

"So, Momma, Papa and Em...They actually went to Heaven?"

"Were they good people?"

"Yes!"

"Then they did." Bunny smiled when most of the worry etched in Jack's face melted away. "Anyway, there were some people who were trained to find the little niche's in the fabric of space and time that let you pass into these worlds. These people kept these worlds safe from darkness, and maintained order between them. This was called the Golden Army. Kosmotis Pitchiner was a general in this organization. I know he trained Lifa into a First Lieutenant in the Golden Army, and she climbed her way up from there into the top ranks. I know women weren't common in the organization, mostly because it was a newly founded agreement to allow all species and gender in the Army."

"Umm...Are there more than two genders?"

"Yeah, there are about eight of 'em. Not on planet Earth, but I don't even know how that works. Any who, She was placed in an elite squad as the commander. She traveled to other worlds, driving Fearlings away. That was until Pitch Black took over Kosmotis, and he released all the Fearlings she'd ever beaten. They grouped together, and raged war across space and time. Lifa could only travel through both space and time because she's an intangible being, like Sandy."

Jack frowned, "Uhh...She seems pretty tangible to me."

Bunny chuckled a little, "So is Sandy. But they can change form, and assume their...er..._true _form. You're going to want to keep your eyes covered when they do."

"Why?"

"Because if you look, you'll be generally vaporized on the spot. Zap, poof, dust." Bunny spread his arms out to demonstrate an explosion. "Because that's when their power is full fledged. We all have true forms. Me, it's just when my magic goes hay-wire and it's green light everywhere and plants going crazy."

Jack grinned, "So I have a true form?"

"Yep. But your powers are still just budding, so it'll be a few centuries before you accomplish that."

"So Lifa can change form?"

Bunny hesitated, "Yes...but...It's kind of frowned upon, in Wicca, to morph into another animal. It's dark magic. Also, a very painful process. If the spell even goes a little wrong, the witch is torn apart from the inside until there's no recognizable anatomy anymore. And then, of course, they die."

Jack looked horrified, "Does she still morph?!"

"With her it's different. She's composed mostly of light. Bend the light particles, throw in some of her sciency magic, and boom, she's a lioness. Or falcon. Two particular favorite's of her's. But anyway, light can go through anything, any where, any time. So was the only pure light being in the entire Army, so..."

Jack's heart felt twisted and cold at that moment. "Lifa was the only one who could stop the Fearlings."

Bunny nodded, "After we won the war, she wasn't ever the same. She didn't smile or laugh anymore, she couldn't take a joke or anything. Who she used to be just...died. And now she's who she is now and all of us, Tooth, Me, North, Sandy...We all hate it."

"She's forgotten fun." Jack realized, "She can't have fun anymore. Or feel...human."

"That's an accurate way of putting it. War changes you. Once you fight in the battle, the war is never really over, not for the veteran. And here we are, getting ready for the next big fight."

"I don't want her fighting this time." Jack mumbled, "She keeps getting hurt for me."

Bunny knew what that felt like. Sighing, he decided now was as good a time as any to bring it up. "Speaking of taking hits for others..."

_Crap,_ was the general though Jack had at the moment. He stood up, ready to make an excuse to leave. But Bunny's pleading facial expression for him to listen made Jack just stand there.

"Why would you be so stupid to take that arrow?! You could've been killed!"

"I wasn't, I'm fine. Besides, What else could I have done? An arrow in the shoulder is better than an arrow in your head."

Bunny wasn't convinced. "I don't care if it killed me, YOU are the one I'm trying to look out for!"

"How can you look out for me if you're dead?!" Jack counter angrily. He was getting fed up with Bunny's overprotective behavior. Bunny stopped talking. There was nothing he could say to that. Instead, he just stood up, and walked over, and hugged Jack again. Jack didn't hug him back, still miffed. But he couldn't be angry anymore when Bunny said in a very small, scared voice. "I'm sorry about the staff. I'm sorry you got hurt protectin' me. I'm sorry you're stuck in a war now. But please, don't do anything like that again. I'm beggin' you, Snowflake. I watched my son die once. I don't want to watch it happen again. No matter what happens, you need to stay safe. Please do that for me."

Jack felt tears burn in his eyes when he hugged the rabbit back. "You have to do the same thing then. Promise we'll both stay safe?"

Bunny felt relieved. "Yeah. I promise."

"Good."

It felt so good, after all the chaos, to just stand there and be hugged. No one attacking, no one crying, nothing going wrong. All the chaos, pain, and fear felt far away. But then Jack realized something. Letting go of Bunny, he stepped back and said, "Whoa, whoa, WHOA. Time and space? LIFA IS A TIME TRAVELER?"

"Well, yeah. Didn't you notice she'll smirk at every clock she walks by?" Bunny chuckled. "I thought you knew."

_Oh, God. Time travel. Complicated...numbers and such...Oww. Brain is not happy. _Was Jack's general thoughts at the moment.

* * *

Two days passed, and Tooth was up and about on the third morning. Jack heard her cry out in horror, and ran into the room to find her standing in front of the mirror, staring at her wings and on the verge of bursting into tears.

"Tooth!"

She spun around. "Jack wh-what happened?!" she gasped, "Where's everyone else?" Darting forward, she poked Jack in his stomach, and began feeling his arms, shoulders, grabbed his face and examining his head for bumps or bruises. Jack laughed a little, "Tooth, I'm okay."

"No, I'm not done yet. Collar bone, it could be broken, most commonly broken in a kid's body-" She put her hand against his shoulder.

"Wait, Tooth, Do- OWW!" Jack yelped in protest. The arrow wound was still sore, even though it was no danger to him. But the muscles had yet to finish healing. Tooth pulled back, "So you are hurt."

"Not anymore! Just sore." he rolled his shoulder, trying to ward off the faint aching. "I took an arrow through the lung. Bunny's ankle just got messed up, but we fixed that. We just needed a lot of sleep."

"Your _lung?!" _Tooth squeaked in horror.

"I nearly bled-" Jack stopped, seeing Tooth's expression, like her heart was on the verge of breaking. He decided details weren't necessary. He sighed, "North and Sandy are missing. Deimos and Phobos attacked us, and took them. They tried taking Bunny, but that didn't work out. Lifa found us after we ran into the woods, trying to get away from Phobos. That was after he shot me with the arrow. Lifa came and found us after Phobos gave up looking. She healed me..."

"No," Tooth covered her face with her hands. "Don't say it."

"She healed me. Saved my life. I carried her back here with Bunny two days ago. You've been sleeping. And...Lifa hasn't woken up yet." Jack finished, just was Bunny came into the room, saying quietly, "I just replaced the I.V pouch...Welcome back, Tooth."

"I.V?" Tooth demanded.

"It's a coma. You know how it works, Toothiana." Bunny walked over, leaning on his crutch. "I'm guessing a few months, at best."

_A few months at best._

Jack stared at the floor. He'd already heard it all. Lifa hadn't stirred once, gone like the dead, and Jack had forced himself to believe that Bunny's estimates were right. So, they'd dug around in the other rooms of the house, found the medical supplies and connected an I.V drip to her arm to keep her alive, sustained. Jack and Bunny watched as Tooth tried to take this in. Finally, her next words made them both wince.

"Y-you're saying...My little girl...Is comatose for the next year?!"

Bunny looked at Jack, as if to say, _Your turn, mate._

"Yes," Jack croaked, "She is. I-it's just us three now."

Tooth took a deep, shuddering breath, and the first few tears slipped down her face. Jack stepped forward, maybe to hug her, but stepped dead on his tracks when Tooth whipped around and put her first through the wall, shouting in anger.

Jack walked over, and gently took her arm, pulling her away. "She's going to be okay."

Tooth turned around and hugged Jack, crying into his shirt. Bunny came over and placed his paw on her shoulder. "We'll figure things out."

But it didn't matter what they said. Tooth cried, Jack hugged her, Bunny tried calming her down, and Lifa remained comatose in the next room.

* * *

Tooth left for the Tooth Palace the next day. Bunny thought it was a good idea, for her to get back to work, to keep children believing. Christmas preparation's were at a hault, dreams were up to the kid's imaginations, their dreams unprotected from the darkness...Easter was a month ago, precisely. Easter Bunny and Tooth fairy were freshly believed in, but Santa would be in danger in the next few months.

Jack walked out of the kitchen that morning, munching on a muffin and heading to the front door to get some fresh air. Bunny was changing Lifa's I.V pouch again. Jack was about to go out the door, when a black envelope with a silver seal shot through the mail slot. There was what looked like a triangle stamped in the silver wax, but Jack knew it was a Delta, Greek for the letter D.

D for Deimos.

Without a word, he snatched up the envelope, broke the seal and tore it open, unfolding the paper and reading the tall, black and sweeping letters.

_Jack Frost~_

_I understand two of your comrades are missing. Rest assured, they are unharmed. My own companion, Hypnos, is the god of sleep. Both Guardians are sleeping like the dead. Dreamless, of course. They are unharmed, but locked away. I have also come to the conclusion Lifa has been put in a coma. I am somewhat of a fair player, lucky for you all._

_My army of Fearlings and the gods is ready. You have six months to prepare. In two months time, I will release Saint Nicolas back into the care of you and your friends. I'm sure Christmas Preparations will not even be half done by then. The Sandman shall be stranded someplace else._

_I will leave a trail of puzzles and tests for dearest Lifa to solve. That will be the first battle. If she is not clever enough to survive, and fails, the Fearlings will destroy the first city, and turn all the children into their own Fearlings. I know that Jamie Bennett is nearly fourteen now, is he not? In Sparta, back in my early years, he would nearly be a man._

_It would be unfortunate for a such a promising boy to be consumed painfully in darkness. Enjoy your six months of rest. _

_~Deimos_

_P.S Try not to fall in love with Lifa so easily. It will bring you less pain if you follow this advice. _

_P.S.S Ask Bunnymund what a muirn beatha dan is. It should be quite interesting, considering Lifa is possibly your's._

Just as Jack finished reading it, mumbling as he sounded out some of the words, being as he was still a learning reader, the paper crumbled into nothing, along with the envelope.

Then Bunny walked into the room, carrying a mug of coffee (_Black and bitter. I don't know why he likes the stuff, _Jack thought) and looked surprised, "Jackie, I thought you'd already left for a flight. Somethin' wrong?"

"Err..." Jack began, watching Bunny drink the coffee and look at him expectantly. "I have a question."

Bunny waited.

"What's a muirn beatha dan?" Jack finally asked.

Bunny's eyes shot wide and he spat coffee everywhere, coughing. "Hah?! Wh-why do you wanna know that?"

"I dunno, just curious. It's Wicca stuff, I wanted to know more about it..." Okay, so that wasn't an entire lie. Jack rocked back and forth on his feet as Bunny tried to find a way to explain it.

"Uhh...You're not thinking about Sunny when you ask this question, are ya?"

"Yes. A little bit."

"Oh." Bunny muttered, putting the coffee mug on the table by the couch.

"A muirn beatha dan is pretty much...Uhh...Your true love, or soul mate, or whatever. In Wicca, it's your soul's other half."

Jack stared in shock. He had not expected that. Bunny went on,

"It's who you're meant to be with, and you'll only be truly happy in life until you're with them. Dahlia and I were muirn beatha dans," Bunny smiled a little, "S'that the answer you wanted?"

_No, _Jack thought, _No, it wasn't remotely what I wanted. Good move, Deimos. _

_My turn now._

* * *

**_A/N _I didn't know how to end this _ But here ya go. I had to crank this out fast. Enjoy~**


	42. Chapter 42

"Bunny, Deimos sent me a letter."

Bunny's paw tightened and promptly snapped the handle off the mug. Jack cringed at the growl emanating from his throat. It was too animal like, and it scared Jack a little bit. Pooka's were a lot more advanced, but they were still, essentially, wild animals. And if they got angry enough. they were as vicious as a rabid coyote. "What did it say?" he asked through gritted teeth.

Jack slouched against his staff, "I-it said...He would give us six months to prepare for the war. In two months, he'd give North back to us and leave Sandy somewhere stranded. He said they weren't hurt. Some god named Hypnos put them to sleep. And...And he knows what happened to Lifa. He said he'd set up some tests for her to solve, and if she didn't, he'd turn every kid in Burgess into a Fearling." Jack finished quickly.

"Is that all it said?"

Jack hesitated. Then nodded. He couldn't say anything, because at this point, he hated lying to Bunny. But Bunny didn't believe him. "Alright, I know that's not true." he muttered, seizing Jack by the back of his neck and plunking the teenager down on the couch. Bunny sat in the chair across from him. "You're scared of something else that psychotic god said. What's eatin' ya?"

Jack rubbed his neck, mumbling about how Bunny needed to quick doing that. Finally, he sighed. "Deimos knows about Jamie. How close we are. And he threatened to use Jamie and Lifa against me. That I should love Lifa so much, because if I didn't, It wouldn't hurt so much...in the end. I-I don't want Jamie to get hurt."

Bunny rubbed his eyes tiredly, "So...Maybe you should go visit Burgess tonight. Check in on the kid. Maybe recapping him on what's happening and making sure he's okay will make ya feel better."

"You want me to tell him what's happening?!" Jack practically exploded.

"Not everything," Bunny backpedaled, "Just...Well, is he Lifa's friend, too?"

Jack's angry expression faded. "Yeah..."

"And Sophie loves her."

"Yeah."

"And flying there will be good for ya. You've been cooped up too much lately."

Jack had to admit, Bunny was right. He was still a nature spirit, never meant to be cooped up. If he was, he's get short tempered, cranky, achy, jumpy, moody and eventually, extremely claustrophobic and ill. He really wanted to see Jamie and Sophie, too.

"Okay, I'll get going soon."

* * *

Jack walked into Lifa's bedroom, where they'd moved her a while ago. It smelled like lots of different kinds of incense, and he could see on her desk, the incense holder and the ash on the strip of carved wood where it perched. He liked the smell. Different spices mingling together, creating a pleasantly exotic atmosphere. Just by walking in her room, he'd learned a lot of things about her.

He'd seen her book shelves, and realized she could speak and read over five hundred languages. In the shelf, there were d.v.d's of some shows she must have really liked. Law and Order, Doctor Who, Sherlock, Adventure Time, Supernatural, and several documentaries.

He found out she, too, could play violin, guitar, flute, penny whistle, and several other instruments besides the piano.

She liked to paint, draw, sew and weave.

But now, none of these things really mattered, because the person who was so multitalented and well cultured was laying in her bed with an I.V needle in her arm and a pulse monitor clipped to her finger. Jack stood over her, trying to ignore how pale she was and the dark circles forming around her eyes.

"I'm gonna leave for a bit, to see the Bennett kids. But I'll be back soon, okay?" he said out loud. "Don't get into any trouble while I'm away," he added, joking with a heavy heart. Jack knelt down by the bed, and reached over, stroking her hair behind her ear, and laying his hand against her face, stroking her cheek with his thumb. "You need to wake up," he whispered. "We're all waiting on you."

But there was no response. She remained docile, her eyes closed, eyelids not even fluttering, showing she didn't even dream anymore. Jack felt like there was a vice tightening around his throat and heart, making it harder and harder for him to hold back the tears he'd been fending off for the past two weeks.

"I'll be back soon," he repeated, and gave her one, gentle kiss on her forehead, and with that, he left.

The only sound left in the room was the beep of the pulse monitor. _Beep._

_Beep._

_Beep..._

* * *

"You have your sword?"

"Yep."

"And you're sure you can fly alright?"

"Yes, Bunny."

"And if you need me, knock on a tree, remember? Two times-"

"Bunny!" Jack interrupted, exasperated. "I'll be fine! Deimos said six months, meaning the Fearlings have probably headed off. And I don't even need magic to defeat one, the rapier works just fine. Quit worrying."

Bunny's frown didn't lessen any bit. He mumbled something in Gaelic, breaking eye contact with Jack. He did that a lot lately. Mumble to himself in his native language. Turning back to Jack like he'd been acting perfectly normal, he said, "Okay. Off ya pop, then."

Jack sighed, and gave the old Pooka a quick hug, "I'll be okay. See you in a few hours, okay?"

"You'd better be," Bunny muttered, ruffling his hair affectionately before letting him go.

With that, Jack launched himself off the ground into the sky. Even though he couldn't go his regular speed, it still felt amazing to feet hundreds of feet above the ground again. The wind tossed him around gently for a few moments, ruffling his snowy hair, expressing it's happiness to have Jack in it's embrace again. Jack smiled, "I missed you, too. Take me to Burgess?"

And just like always, the wind obliged, directing him to America, Pennsylvania, to Jamie and Sophie.

* * *

Jamie stared outside at the raging rain storm. There was no thunder and lightning. Just rain, rain, rain, assaulting the exterior of his house, pounding against the window pounds and the sound of the wind howling outside with it. His mother had long since gone to sleep, but Sophie and Jamie were camped out on his bed. Sophie didn't want to go to sleep, with the wind screaming like it was. She was afraid thunder might jump into the fray, too. But she'd fallen asleep anyway, against her brother's chest with his arm draped around the five year old girl.

Jamie glanced out the window again. Everything seemed darker days ago, clouds covered the sun and now it wouldn't come out. The weather was humid, the air heavy and the wind cold, the sky a deep gray as the sun's rays failed to find the strength to pierce the dark, stormy veil.

Jamie jumped when he heard a _taptaptap _on the window pain. Moving quick, but gentle as not to wake his little sister, Jamie hauled the window open and immediately, a familiar teenager with white hair tumbled in. Jamie hauled the window shut again, "Jack! What are you doing here? It's April!"

Jack stood up, shaking water out of his hair before it froze. Jamie frowned. Instead of his hoody, he was wearing just a blue t-shirt with a white snowflake on the front. "Where's your hoody?" the fourteen year old asked.

"Oh...Umm...Okay, to the first question: I'm just dropping in to check in on you. And second question, I gave it to Sunshine."

"Sunshine?" Jamie cocked his head, frowning.

"Oh," Jack blushed a little bit, "Sorry...I kind of have a habit of calling her that. It's my nickname for Lifa."

"How come you gave her your hoody?"

"She needed something to wear. She couldn't just stand in the infirmary wearing bandages-" Jack began to explain, but from Jamie bewildered expression, he thought it best to start at the beginning. "You might want to sit down for this one, kiddo. Don't wake Soph."

After Jamie sat back down on the bed next to his sister, Jack paced back and forth across the room, trying to find out where to begin. Jamie broke the silence, "Are you and Lifa dating now?"

Jack flinched for some reason. He stared at the floor, trying to swallow the lump in his throat. He could feel the tears building up, from the past events. But he couldn't, _wouldn't _break down in front of Jamie. Turning around, he sat down on the foot of the bed, and spoke in a hoarse, quiet voice, "Yes, we are. Only as of a couple days ago...And a little after that, she got hurt, helping me. N-now she won't wake up for a few months."

"She's in a coma," Jamie realized.

Jack nodded, "See, Lifa can heal. It's one of her special abilities, like me making frost pictures come to life. But she can only heal herself. If she heals someone else, it bounces back on her and...Well, we were attacked. I took an arrow through my chest and she basically brought me back from the dead. Two days ago. There are some bad people out there, Jamie, rounding up some old spirits and gods, and Fearlings, trying to do what Pitch did but much worse. Their leader, this guy called Deimos?"

"God of Terror. Yeah, social studies unit on Greek Mythology." Jamie nodded for him to go on.

Jack took a deep breath, "He's been doing all this. At first, Pitch tried, but Deimos...Deimos killed him. Well, he killed Kosmotis Pitchiner. Kosmotis was a human man, who was possessed by the Fearling called Pitch Black a few thousand years ago. He was a good man. Not evil, ever."

Jack winced. He realized how much he was trembling, and his voice was shaking when he had to talk about Pitch. Unwanted memories and fears swelled up inside him, memories of agony, burning and cruel words that had been carefully chosen to cut him to the core, which they had. Jack hunched forward, clenching his hands in his hair. Jamie inched forward, and tried to pry his fists open. The boy asked very quietly, "Did Pitch hurt you or something?"

"Y-yeah. But I'm okay now." Jack lifted his head, forcing a smile. "Bunny and the others came and took me home, fixed me up, and now I'm fine. All healed."

Jamie hated that smile. Jack didn't realize how much it resembled a grimace. He knew Jack was lying, he knew Pitch had done something horrible to him now, but Jamie didn't want to know. "Okay...What else is happening?"

"Oh. Well, Deimos is giving us six months to prepare for a war. And I'm just telling you...keep the night light on, okay? Keep as many shadows away as possible. You'll be okay."

"I know I'll be okay. But are you?"

Jack was genuinely shocked and thrown off by the question.

Was he okay?

Jack searched for words to say. He may or may not be falling in love with someone he was pretty sure wouldn't love him back, and thrown that into still getting over three hundred years of solitude to multiply the uncertainty. And surely, that love would be held against him. Jamie was in danger. Lifa was in a coma. Tooth couldn't fly. North and Sandy were hostage. Bunny refused to admit it, but Jack had noticed that something off about the Pooka. He was too fidgety, worrying about him, flinching every time Jack said "Fearling" and he kept mumbling to himself in Gaelic. Once, just once, the notion had crossed Jack's mind that maybe Bunny wasn't very..._sane. _

But all the pain, the nightmares about Pitch that he refused to bring up to the others, Lifa and Tooth and Bunny all being hurt, his other two friends gone, almost dying again and almost losing Bunny...No.

He was not okay.

And then the damn cracked. Jack broke, and began mumbling almost inaudibly that no, He was not okay, and he was so scared and it was his fault that Lifa was hurt. Jamie hugged his best friend tightly, and Jack hugged him back, burying his face in the kid's hair because Jamie was still much shorter than he was. Jamie was a little surprised when Jack did so, and was even more surprised to discover Jack's breath was warm, not cold, like a normal person. Sometimes, he forgot Jack was more human than they all realized. And every human needed a chance to break down every once and a while.

Jamie didn't care how tired he was, because it was late in the night, or how cold he was becoming. Jack talked away his fears, and worries until he couldn't properly form a word anymore, so he finally just stopped and said, "M'sorry, Kiddo...Didn't mean to start venting on you."

Jamie mumbled, "S'okay...You needed too..." he didn't mean to, but he yawned.

Jack blinked, realizing how late at night it was. Sitting back against the bed's pillows once more, he hugged Jamie with one arm and pulled Sophie close again with the other. Thank god, they hadn't woken the girl. Anyway, Sophie slept like a rock. She could sleep through a stampede and be bright eyed and bushy tailed the next morning. Jamie curled up close to Jack, falling asleep against his adopted big brother, hugging Jack tightly. Jack's lips twitched in a ghost of a smile. Both kids were so huggable, all the time.

Jack stared at the ceiling, with both kids curled up on either side of him. He felt kind of better. The feeling in his throat, like he'd been trying to swallow a wad of clay, was mostly gone. But the back of his neck prickled hotly with fear, and anger still boiled inside him, anger towards Deimos and Phobos and Pitch Black. But he was also sad.

He felt horrible for Bunny, because he didn't know how to ask him, "Hey, are you going crazy? Can I call you a therapist?". And he wished he'd known about Kosmotis Pitchiner. Maybe he could've helped. He wanted to have been able to tell the man himself, that he didn't hold him responsible for Pitch's torture, that he was forgiven. He wanted to walk into that house again, to hear Lifa's Norwegian accented voice, to see her beautiful golden eyes again, her lopsided smile, and to see her awake, healthy, and safe. He wanted North to crush him in a rib-breaking hug, and to be able to complain about the man not knowing his own strength. He wanted to see Sandy's sand dolphins and the little man's brilliant facial expressions during each conversation, faces that said more than words ever could. He wanted Tooth to flit up to him, smiling lovingly, and to pry his mouth open to sneak a peek at his teeth. But Jack couldn't have any of that. It was all so far away, so distant, as if he'd never had a family. But he had Jamie and Sophie at this moment, right next to him, and for now, it let his fears, angers, and sadness hold off. Just enough to keep it from crushing him.

He'd never fallen asleep at Jamie's house, ever. But now, with the horrible, dooming war looming six months away...He wished this night would never end, and that he'd never have to wake up.

* * *

Jamie woke up the next morning, on Saturday. He realized someone had tucked him into bed, next to Sophie. The little girl had her short arms locked around his waist, and was snoring softly. Jamie smiled at his sister, and hugged her back. But then he realized Jack was gone.

Jamie pried Sophie's arm off of himself and sat bolt upright, "Jack?!" he called out, scrambling off the bed. He didn't want Jack out on his own, not after how scared he'd sounded the night before. Then, Jamie stopped at the window.

On the window pane, there was a frost drawing, with incredible detail, outlining the picture. A tall boy, with hair that stuck up at the top, one arm slung around a smaller boy, and holding a little girl's hand, a little girl wearing wings. The smaller boy wore what Jamie recognized to be his winter hat. Jack smiled, getting the message.

A thanks for being there, for being a best friend, and to stick around, and stick together.

* * *

Jack landed in front of the house, stumbling. It had to be about seven or eight in the morning. The flight exhausted him. He was so emotionally drained, too. Walking through the door silently, he could hear the sounds of the coffee maker, and the sound of the fridge closing as Bunny retrieved the jug of milk for that disgusting bitter, dark roast black coffee he drank every morning. How could someone who loves chocolate so much like something so bitter?

Jack collapsed on the couch and curled up without a word. Bunny must not know he was home. But of course, he did. The unmistakable scent of icy pine needles that signaled 'Jack Frost is near' reached the Pooka's highly sensitive nose, Jack knew. Jack listened to the clunk of the mug being left under the coffee maker to be filled up, and heard Bunny walk out of the kitchen. Still remaining silent, because he didn't have any thing to say, Jack stood up, and walked up to Bunny, who'd just made it out of the kitchen.

Jack hugged him tightly, burying his face in Bunny's fur, and shivering. Bunny blinked, and hugged him back. "Hey, welcome back. What're you shakin' for?"

Jack shook his head, but he couldn't help it. Last night, talking to Jamie, his barrier had cracked. But now, it shattered completely. He sobbed uncontrollably, tears freezing halfway down his face, or falling in perfect, frozen pearls to shatter unnoticed on the wooden floor. Bunny hugged him, and rubbed comforting circles in his back. He began to ask questions, "Is Jamie okay?"

Jack nodded silently, still keeping his face hidden in Bunny's fur.

"Did you get attacked?"

Jack shook his head.

"Did Jamie say something bad? Or Sophie?"

Another shake of no.

Bunny frowned, recalling Jack had been gone all night. Anything could have happened. "C'mon, Snowflake. What's eatin' ya?"

"I'm sorry," came the mumbled reply, "I lied."

"Lied about what?" Bunny knelt down so he was a little less eye level with Jack. After all, he was nearly two feet taller with the kid. But he kept his paws planted on the kid's shoulders. This way, it would be harder for Jack to hide, like he would've had he been wearing his hoody.

"A-after I got b-back from Pitch's L-Lair...I'm not okay. I'm n-not okay...I keep having n-ni-nightmares a-and I have sc-scars now and-" Jack stumbled over the words, desperately trying to get a grip, but failing. He sobbed silently, shaking. Bunny hugged him again.

"You didn't have to lie, Jackie. It's okay to be scared."

Jack clung to Bunny, still mumbling, "S'all my fault Lifa is hurt. She d-didn't have to save m-me but she d-did...And i-it wasn't just P-Pitch. A Fearling h-helped him."

Jack cringed a little when Bunny stiffened. Another son tormented by another Fearling. Jack blurted out the final words, "I'm terrified th-that we're going t-to lose...and th-then we'll lose _everything."_

Bunny hugged him tighter, rocking back and forth gently, trying to get the teenager to stop shaking so much. He didn't know where this had all come from so suddenly. "Jackie, we're not going to lose, I promise. No one...No one is going to break up our family. Lifa is going to be okay. And no more bottling things up, okay?"

Jack nodded, sighing silently in relief. It was official: Bottling things up? Bad. Letting things out and getting a hug? Good.

Bunny repeated the most important words,

"It's okay to be scared."

* * *

**A/N HA took me a while to come up with this. I thought that with everything happening, no way Jack could take it all without a little break down and some comforting from family members.**

**I had an idea to bring in a new villain, a special Fearling, created from a person's fears, doubts, grief, etc. Like an evil twin, your polar opposite. FEARLING JACK, OH YES.**

**And yeah, Bunny is losing it a little bit.**

**Also, on my deviantart (xkeyblademasterx1221) you can see my drawings for the fanfic. I just set up the deviantart, so there isn't much yet but I'm excited cuz I'm really proud of my sneak-peak Lifa portrait. It's just a practice thing, but still.**

**Drawing hair is ENTERTAINING/ADDICTING AS FUCK.**


	43. Chapter 43

One more hour.

One more hour, and it's officially two months since the attack.

Time had dragged by slowly. Tooth visited Lifa, while her wings healed, checked in on Jack and fussed over both him and Bunny, asking if they were brushing their teeth, sleeping alright, and the like, and of course, if Bunny was looking after Jack, and if Jack was giving him a hard time. Both complained that she didn't need to mother them. They stayed at Lifa's house, since the Warren was destroyed, and the Pole was still overrun with Fearlings. Tooth Palace remained intact. Thanks to Tooth's helpers and constant teeth collecting, they didn't stagger in believers. At least, not from any believers of them. Sandy's suffered a little bit.

Lifa did not stir. She dreamed, a little, but all in all, not a single hitch in her breath or shift in position.

But things were going to change today. It was June now, and North was going to be returned to them, as Deimos had said. Except, they didn't know where he'd end up. But Deimos was doing the drop off, apparently, and Bunny has outright refused to let Jack come along.

"Why the hell not?!" He'd demanded.

Bunny had first called him out on his language, and then stated, "Because you're too short-tempered around the guy, and you're way to eager to send some icicle's through 'im, in a nutshell. Negotiating is not your strong suit around this guy."

"Do I need to repeat WHY I hate him so much?! I have as much right to-"

"I get that you have the right, he's hurt someone you love. All the more reason to play it safe."

Jack hadn't had anything to say to that.

And now, Bunny was strapping on his armor once again, boomerang ready and what he called an athame beside it's sheath and much to Jack's amusement, a wooden wand. He'd doubted the wand's reliability until Bunny had pointed it at his feet, said a few words in Ancient Celtic and roots shot through the floor boards and wrapped around Jack's legs all the way up to his waist, only to leave his arms flailing and him stuttering in panic.

And thus, Jack learned not to anger any wooden relics smaller than his own precious staff. Now, after being released, he was seeing Bunny out the door.

"I'll be back no later than sun up. You sure you're okay on your own?"

"YES." Jack repeated for the umpteenth time. "Lock the doors, don't mess with the magic seals, remember to eat my dinner, I got it, Bunny. Quit babying me."

"Then quit acting like a baby half the time," he countered. "You know how to change the I.V pouch? Every three hours..." Bunny added.

Jack's smile wilted. "Yes...I can take care of her while you're gone. Don't worry. And for God's sake, _be careful!"_

"I know, I know, I promised, remember? And I'm sure you and Lifa will be fine."

Clapping Jack on his shoulder, Bunny gave him a reassuring smile that didn't make Jack looked any less brooding and clicked the door shut behind him. Jack peeked out the window just in time to see Bunny disappear down a rabbit hole. Knowing it would do no good just to stand there, he turned around and raced up the stairs to Lifa's room. He hated being away from her. He'd seen enough sob-story movies in his dull three hundred years, the ones where you leave someone along for just a little while and everything goes horribly wrong.

Plunking down in his chair next to her bed, he stared at her for a little while. She hardly changed. She remained pale, motionless, every muscle relaxed. He hated how her hands didn't move. They were always moving, doing something, holding something, building, helping...But now they were still, without purpose. Over the two months, he'd memorized her face so he could never forget it. Each freckle, her long eyelashes, the long, faint white scar on the top of her left cheek bone, another short scar on her chin. Even the shape of her lips, nose, and discovering her hair wasn't just brown; Each strand was a shade of chocolate, auburn and copper. He wondered where the two scars were from. They were little flaws that, to him, were perfections and details that carefully defined her.

Sighing, he picked up the Goblet of Fire. He'd finished the Prisoner of Azkaban, reading it aloud to her even though he knew she didn't hear him. "Right...we left off at...chapter five..." he mumbled, opening the book. Reading helped. He wasn't sure why, but it comforted him greatly. It was as if the characters were becoming his...best friends, almost. He was in the adventure with them. But now it wasn't as fun as he wished it could've been. Lifa would've surely been correcting how he said the words, and helping him through the long ones. He was still a learning reader, but he was progressing at a fast rate. Still, he wished...He wished that she would at least move.

He wished she didn't look so _dead._

As if to reassure himself, he reached over her took hold her hand. Her right, not the left. The left was intricately crafted steel and chrome, the prosthetic. Not warm, or alive. Just something to receive brain commands. But Jack just wanted to make sure that there was still life inside her someplace.

But the second his fingers brushed her hand, it felt as if he'd fallen down a rabbit hole, and plunged into thick, warm water. But it didn't feel wet. He kept being dragged down, down , down...He could only see bright light, so pure it was almost an ivory color. But as he drifted slowly down to land on his feet, vague, wispy images began to form around him.

Jack looked down and saw a light dusting of dreamsand all over him. In his hair, clinging to his skin, sticking to his clothes, and drifting off of him as he moved. He didn't understand at first, but then he realized he was almost a ghost, but more crystal like in appearance. Crystals like...like a memory box from Tooth Palace. Suddenly, it clicked.

_He was in Lifa's memories._


	44. Chapter 44

The first memory wasn't what he'd have expected. He was standing outside a house at the top of the hill, the chief's house, when a tiny little girl dashed out of the house, and ran around back to, presumably, hide from a pursuer. She had long, deep copper curls, and was wearing a simple red tunic and gray leggings, and fur boots. She hid behind the corner of the house. That was when Jack realized there was a man creeping up behind her, who bared a close resemblance to her. No doubt, her father.

Jack smiled when he lunged forward and snatched her up in a sneak attack, "I got you, pal!"

The little girl shrieked in shock, and then laughed, trying to wriggle out of his arms. "No fair, sneaking up is no fair, Daddy, put me down!"

They laughed, and smiled, and he carried her back inside, saying, "Alright, that's enough, you need to take a break from all this running."

He received a cranky, "Meh!" in response, followed by a cough and rattling breath. His smile wavered. Then the scene changed.

* * *

She was much older now, about twelve, wearing the familiar pale beige tunic, fur vest, brown leggings, fur foots, and a deep red headband with iron studs in it that suited her well. She was running into what looked like an arena, or a school. But a sign said, "Dragon Training Academy". The girl, however, faceplanted into the ground when a tall, pale boy with raven black hair and storm gray eyes smirked. He'd tripped her. "Morning, pipsqueak. Excited, huh?"

"Koli, you'll pay for that!" she jumped to her feet, unabashed, and slammed her fist into his stomach. But then, she panicked when he doubled over. Had her puny fist actually hurt him? "Wait, I'm sorry, Koli, are you okay?"

"N-no," he choked, doubled over. "B-but you c-can help."

"How?"

"Gimme a kiss," he grinned straightening up, not injured at all. That earned him a shove in the chest, with an angry, but still good natured, "Piss off!"

Jack frowned. Who was this boy? He was far too friendly with her...Then scene changed once more.

She was stand before a ship, being hugged by three people. Brother, mother, father. But the image faltered, and shattered. Jack realized it was too painful for her to go back on, this memory. He turned in a circle, to see a new image.

* * *

Jack stumbled backwards as the sounds of this memory roared to life. Deafening shouts, screams, crashing and destruction. The sounds of war. Jack spun around to see burly people locked in combat, most of them with bears, and axes, clubs or swords, round wooden shields included. He scrambled away from the fight, trying to get up the hill away from the village. But the battle was ending. Even so, he wanted to get away from the stench of blood, and smoke. But the hill kept going, up, up up...

Invaders were being driven back to their ship, the sand of the beach stained red, the waves awash with blood. Several bodies were dead or dying. But that didn't hold Jack's attention long. There was a voice, at the base of the hill, where the frontline had been. Someone was kneeling on the ground, cradling another person, and pleading, "Stay awake, don't close your eyes. Come on, pal, don't give up, _please!"_

Jack crept forward to the scene. It was a man with copper colored hair, eyes full of forest greens, a green tunic, fur cloak, the same Viking style. But the cloak signified power. And in his arms, he cradled a small, teenaged girl. Jack didn't recognize her at first.

Her hair was cut short like a boy's, and she was wearing boy clothes, too. Two arrows were deep in her shoulder and stomach. But that wasn't the wound that made her shudder and cough up crimson blood. It was a thick, steadily spreading stain of red spreading over her chest. A bloody, short knife lay on the ground. "Keep your hands over it," the man coaxed quietly, folding her hands over the wound, and pressing down lightly with his own. She cringed, and moaned in pain, shaking her head, coughing, and retching up more blood. It spattered the front of her shirt, lips, and chin, and Jack realized the man was blinking back tears.

"W-we won?" she asked hoarsely.

He laughed humorlessly, a breathless gasp, more like. "Yeah, pal. All because of you. Remember what I said, no giving up," he added, slapping her face gently. "C'mon, kiddo."

"M'not giving up." she mumbled, "M'twice the...the stubborn...bull headed Viking...You ever were, Daddy."

He rocked her back and forth gently, "Don't I know it?" he murmured, trying to smile for her. Jack crept forward again.

"Lifa, why did you do it?!" he demanded suddenly. Lifa blinked slowly, inhaling slowly, the wheeze rattling painfully.

"C-couldn't let my home d-die. S'good reason,yeah?"

No, it wasn't. There was never a good reason for a father to lose his daughter. "Thought you could fool me, huh? I knew it was you right away. Thinking I can't tell my own kids apart..."

"Figure I'm still cleverer then you," she mumbled, nodding off. The man panicked, "D-don't you dare! Lifa? Come on, open your eyes!"

But she didn't. She coughed one more time, and drops of red spattered her father's shirt. "I love you, Daddy."

That was the last thing she wanted him to know. She loved her father. She didn't blame him for being too late. But even so, as her heartbeat stopped, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third's heart shattered into enough pieces to call it dust.  
"No, no, NO! Lifa, wake up, for Odin's sake, please don't die, you CAN'T!" he pleaded her, desperately. But it fell on dead, deaf ears. He mumbled devastatingly, "N-not my little girl, _please...not my baby girl."_

He clutched his daughter close, kissing the top of her head, trying to wipe the blood from her face as well as he could, and brushing her hair out of her face. He kept trying to speak, tell her he loved her, too, but couldn't form the words through the choking lump in his throat. So, he sobbed. He cradled her, so tiny and fragile looking now, that faint smile frozen on her face, and wept harder and longer than he'd ever had in his life. Jack stepped back, realizing this was the day Lifa had died for her village. And then he was thrown back into the real world, at Lifa's bedside, as if nothing had happened.

Yet, she still had not stirred once, save for a solitary tear falling, and a hitch in her breathing of a not-quite-a-sob.


	45. Chapter 45

Lifa felt the pleasant, familiar cold brush against her hand before her black, dark world turned a beautiful light, the palest of blue. It flowed over her, like standing on a hill with the wind blowing gently from all directions, cushioning her from all around. It felt wonderful. But then images began to clear up.

She blinked, realizing she was standing in a simple home made of wood, and stone. A Colonial time period, she knew. Peeking out the window, she saw it was snowing heavily, fat snowflakes drifting lazily down to earth. Lifa smiled a little. The color reminded her of Jack's hair. His incredibly pretty hair. Lifa always had mutual respect for people with great hair. Jared Padaleki, Loki, and a certain hot-headed Scottish queen she once knew...Why not add Jack to the list?

Jack. Where was he?

She turned around to hear the wail of an infant in the house. Stepping lightly across the wooden floor, she peered through the door standing ajar at the end of the room. It was a bed room, and a woman with thick, straight caramel brown hair, and mostly-green hazel eyes was propped up in the bed by pillows. Gently, she passed the baby that was swaddled in a pale, gentle blue blanket. It had wispy, honey colored hair, and a pink face, certainly healthy looking. A man standing next to the bed with thick, brown locks and brown eyes took the baby gingerly, eyes wide and terrified. "He's so _little." _

"He's a newborn. He'll grow." the woman smiled gently, "Mind his head, Jack."

Jack?!

No, this was not Jack. Too old, and his shoulders too broad. Jack Senior (she presumed) cradled the baby, who let out a bubbling giggle and stared up at him with the same deep, brown eyes.

"Let's name him after you, dear. He has your eyes, after all."

The man smiled at his wife, "Alright. Jackson it is...Jackie. Our little Jackie."

* * *

The scene changed. A little boy, of age two, wearing a white cotton shirt, and brown trousers, clung to the deep blue coat of his father, who was on his way out the door. He cried, over and over, "No, no, don't leave, Papa, you don't have to leave!"

Blue coat. White pants. White shirt...Lifa realized this was the military uniform of a Patriot fighting in the Revolutionary war. She wondered what year it was. The man knelt down, and hugged his tiny son tightly, "It's okay, Jackie. I'll come home, I promise. But everyone needs to do their part."

Jackie, the little boy, sobbed openly, "N-no, you d-don't!"

Jack Senior pulled away, wiping his son's tears from his face. "Yes, I do. But I _promise, _I won't leave forever. I will come home. Be a big boy, and take care of your mother. Remember to have fun, too. Don't forget to keep smiling."

Jackie wiped his eyes, and gave his father a watery, but brave, smile. "Yes, Papa."

"Atta boy." his father smiled, embracing him once more before the two soldiers that had been waiting outside knocked on the door, calling to him that the wagon was here to take them away.

Lifa stepped back. Was this the day Jack lost his father?

No. The image was changing, brighter, happier. One of Jack's favorite memories.

Five year old Jack tore out of the house, right behind his mother. She was dressed in a pretty, pale blue flowered pattern dress. It was simple, a Colonial style. Her hair was tied back by a dark blue ribbon that distinctly reminded Lifa of Jack's hoody. In fact, the color was most nearly the same.

Lifa turned to see what they were so excited about, and then she saw Jack senior, tired, weary and covered in road dust, walking up the road to his house.

His tired eyes brightened at the sight of his family running towards him, and cried out, "Mairead!" when the woman threw her arms around his neck, and hugged him tightly, "Thank God!"

They laughed, and smiled through tears, as Jack hugged his wife and son, glad to be home. This was the year the Revolutionary War ended, and Jack got his father back.

The image changed again. Eight year old Jack looked utterly amazed and terrified as his father lead him into his mother's bedroom. A few moments later, a squalling baby girl was placed in his arms.

"Meet you baby sister, Jack." Mairead smiled. "Her name is Emma."

Joy, wonder, amazement, a little bit a fear...The expression on the boys face made Lifa smile. That expression soon filled with instantaneous brotherly love. "Hi, Emma," he whispered, smiling that wide, impossibly happy smile.

More memories rushed past. Teaching his sister so many things, snow ball fights and the like, loving her, protecting her, having fun, refusing to wear shoes no matter how much his mother insisted, curling up in bed with his sister and parents on holidays, and thunderstorms...

It was a good life. The perfect life.

Until Jack turned eleven, and then Easter Sunday came.

**A/N (you all know what happens here)**

Lifa wished she'd never seen that memory, seen Jack scream and cry in such a way that made you think he was being torn apart. She turned away and covered her ears during the memory of the funeral, when Jack cried silently, and cradled his sister, standing impossibly close to his mother until the service was over.

And then she saw the two years he spent being mute, unhappy, unsmiling. Only laughing for his sister and mother. He got in fist fights with the boys in his town for insulting his passed-on father for his deafness, and mocking Jack for being mute, and illiterate.

Well, Jack could certainly beat someone to a pulp, he'd proved that much. Lifa noticed he was actually pulling his punches, even if they still did the damage they did, and smirked.

Lifa smiled when he learned to smile, laugh and speak once more, taking up the violin his father had left for him. He played by the bonfire in the town on nights where the village would since, and dance. He'd spin in circles, stomping his feet, and grinning as he danced with everyone else, providing music along with anyone else in the village who could. Then, he'd suddenly shove his fiddle into his mother's hands, scoop up his sister and dance with her, making her smile and laugh.

He learned to herd sheep, to get a job for his family. It was a job his father used to have before wood carving, and he used his father's old crook. Lifa immediately recognized it as Jack's staff.

And then...

They were standing on ice.

"It's okay, don't look down, just...just look at me."

Lifa whipped around to see Jack, darker skinned, dark haired and dark eyes, in a cloak and same brown pants he wore now, and a white, woolen shirt. She could've sworn Jack's father had worn the same cloak. But the ice was breaking...Emma was terrified.

"We're gonna have some fun instead..."

Lifa stood between them on the ice, unseen and unheard. Jack smiled, "We're gonna play hopscotch, like we do every day!"

Every day. He did, every day, pull his sister outside to play hopscotch, no matter how old he got. She saw, in the memories. How much he loved her...

She watched, and cringed as he hopped three times. And then it was Emma's turn. He hooked the crook of his staff around her waist, tossing her out of harm's way, and as she watched, so many laws of physics she'd read in a book raced through her head. Momentum, intertia, balanced forces...Sure enough, he was tossed onto the thin ice. His sister looked up, and smiled. Relief, joy, hope...Jack smiled at her, grinning, like it hadn't been a life and death situation at all. She could see it in his face.

He thought he was going to go home, carrying Emma on his shoulders and laughing about another adventure.

He thought he'd get lectured again for no shoes by his mother.

He thought everything would be okay.

And then the ice broke, and Jack plummeted into the icy cold, unforgiving lake. Next thing Lifa knew, she was in the water, watching him thrash for only a few moments as his limbs locked up from the unbearable cold, and he went still, as his eyes drifted shut and bubbles escaped his lips, the last of the air in his lungs. She watched as Emma shouted at him desperately from over head and she heard him think blearily, _Emma, don't...fall...Run home, run home, don't worry about me._

And even as he realized he was going to die here, the only think he thought was _Thank God she's safe._

Lifa stumbled back, covering her mouth and blinking rapidly at the sudden tears as the scene changed. Jack was alone. So, so alone. The memories rushed by, of spirits picking on him for just doing his job. He was beaten, and down-talked. And yet, he was grateful for it. For the sign that he actually existed. And all that lead up to the blizzard of 68.

That memory, for some reason, was too painful for Jack's mind to venture into.

And then, her world went black once more.

* * *

Jack sighed, and lay his head on his arms, which were folded on the edge of the bed. Just sleep. But he couldn't, even when he closed his eyes as much as he had to force himself to do. The blood, the coughing, the pleading...

Lifa's death scarred him deeply. And then he remembered, she'd been two months pregnant during that battle. A knife in the stomach...He couldn't even think about it. No wonder she wasn't a Guardian. She'd given both her life, and ceased the making of a new one, of a child. Jack knew, it was only two months. The child had no feelings, no functions. It was not actually ALIVE yet. But still...Jack couldn't help but to wonder. If she'd lived, if everything had been okay...Could she had been happy, as a queen? As a young mother? In Scotland, she wasn't all that young to be married and having a child. But to Jack, where he'd grown up and where he was now, it was unorthodox. Would it have been a son or daughter? It's name? A Viking or a Scot? Jack pushed the thoughts away. They weren't questions he could ask her, and not answers he had the right to demand. It was her life, her decision, and it was personal and delicate thoughts. But still, all the things she shouldered on her own, and the sacrifices she made...

He shivered uncontrollably. All that happiness in her family, torn away by that one memory that refused to show, and then ended by that gruesome, painful battle. That was her life? That was how it ended?! It wasn't fair, she didn't _deserve _that. But even so, he knew something now. The Lifa laying here, the way she acted, and spoke wasn't who she really was. She'd been changed, in a bad way. Jack wanted to know what kind of person she actually was.

He'd just witnessed her child hood. Her smile, her laugh, her optimistic outlook, her constant demand to push herself to the limit, to find adventure, fun and always get into trouble. Lifa used to know how to be a child, to be able to play games and be light hearted, to not be as cynical as she always was. But Jack could see, her fearlessness, sassy tongue, and sense of preeminence in the world...That was her old self, shining through somehow. Those were the things he loved about her. Everything else, he knew she was not.

But from all she'd seen, done, and been through...Jack feared who she really used to be was long dead.

He wondered if he could change that.

* * *

Deimos waited patiently at the front door of Santoff Clausen, as if he owned the place, as Bunny arrived. He smiled politely, and Bunny felt his fur bristle. He hated him more than anything else at the moment.

"It's been two months," Bunny said as evenly and calmly as he could. "Where is North?"

"After we talk, He'll pop up in Lifa's house. If you don't make me too angry," Deimos replied.

"Talk about what?"

Deimos pondered for a moment. "Did you limit Frost's powers?"

Bunny flinched subtly at the memory. "Yes."

"Hm. You seem very unhappy with the experience. It created a new fear inside you, Phobos told me. You're afraid of hurting Jack now. Considering you've accomplished it quite well."

Bunny gritted his teeth, trying to stay calm. "Well, that's a fear that doesn't matter. I wouldn't ever hurt him. I'd die first."

Deimos cocked his head, "Is that really your answer? You fail to keep your word. Tell me, Aster, the Fearling that slaughtered your dear Dahlia and poisoned your poor kit, Esmond, letting him die slowly...Did you ever accomplish killing it? And don't lie. You left a mark on it, cut off it's finger when it tried to touch your son a week before you left for war. Good move, preventing such a horrid nightmare it intended to feed off of."

Bunny was genuinely shocked that Deimos knew that. What, did they take a peek into his memories? But he did remember. One week before he left for the war, the Fearlings had spread to his own clan. He found one, in Essie's room, when the kit was fast asleep. It attempted to reach out, to give him nightmares and feed off of his fear, but Bunny had sensed the dark aura and was there in seconds.

By throwing his athame, he'd neatly sliced off the finger reaching for his son. It shrieked once, and shrank back into shadows. Essie was merely confused, and grumpy for being woken up, mumbling about stupid Da's and tromping around the burrow in the middle of the night before curling up once more and snoring.

It'd comforted Aster, at the time, how ignorant Essie had been to the creeping danger. He'd never told Dahlia. He never wanted to ruin her happiness. It was like she'd reached the peaking joy in her life. Her husband loved her, she had a beautiful son, a thriving clan, the perfect life. She was the closest thing to a lawyer in the Pooka Clan's. She argued against criminals, and convicted them, convincing the council of the true suspect, and staying on the side of justice. Bunny had never won an argument against her. Mostly because she was always right, and her vocabulary was about five miles wider than his.

She must've called the Fearling every name in the book before dying to shield Essie from it's brutality.

"The very same Fearling that tore Jack's collar bone out? You might want to ask him about it. You never did really talk to him about what happened, did you? The details. What he was...Interrogated for?" Deimos went on, smiling. "Oh, he didn't want to tell you. He feared you blaming yourself. It truly amazes me, how considerate he actually is. More than you gave him credit for at the blizzard of 68'. Didn't you even ask his side of the story?"

Bunny remained silent. He knew, if he said a word, he'd just lose it and try to tear Deimos apart. Silence is a virtue.

"He'd been recovering from a horrific injury. Struck by lightning, in the back! He'd nearly lost the use of his legs, had it not been for the very, very few spirits who took pity on him. The tree sprites of Autumn. I do believe Jack is fond of the apathetic beings. They rarely venture from their trees to take another form, but when the winter child crashed down to earth, screaming in pain, and lightning all over the sky, they just couldn't leave him. He'd been forced to hold in his powers the months that it took to heal. And finally, _finally _the use of his legs returned to him. But the pain of restraining his powers was unbearable. He was on his way to find an isolated place to relieve the pain, create the biggest storm he could."

Deimos smiled, pausing for a effect, enjoying the look of dawning horror, denial and guilt on the Pooka's face.

* * *

Jack finished changing the pouch on the I.V stand, sighing. "I've been waaay too philosophical lately." he muttered, smirking. "Right, Sunshine? I need to lighten up! Heh, lighten up...See the pun I used there?"

Nothing.

"Tough crowd," he said sarcastically.

But downstairs, he heard a sudden crashing and wooshing sound, as if waves of the ocean were raging in the living room. It was closely followed by cursing...in...Russian?!

Jack wasted no time tearing down the stairs and into the living room. "NORTH?!"

The poor man looked exhausted, wearing the same clothes he'd been abducted in. Sleep deprived, worn out, weary, confused, and angry, too. He'd also landed flat on his voice, and was mumbling in Russian.

"North!" Jack cried again, joyfully. North looked up, staggered to his feet. "Jack? S'that you?"

"Yes. Welcome home!" Was the only thing Jack think of to say before full on tackling the man in a hug. North smiled, and embraced the boy, mumbling,

"I do not have an idea of what is happening but I will just go with flow, Da?"

Jack laughed, "I'll explain later." he smiled.

* * *

Deimos walked around Bunny in circles, as the Pooka clenched his fists and stared at the ground, fur bristling and ears laying flat against his head.

"But he didn't make it. The blizzard unleashed itself, and all he could do was curl up and cry over his guilt. He didn't even know it had been Easter Sunday. And when he realized it was, he tried to keep his chin up, wipe his tears and seek you out to ask for forgiveness, and explain what had happened, and ask how he could help. But you just yelled at him, and told him to get lost. The comfort of the pain being gone after his powers balancing against meant nothing to the boy right then."

Deimos turned to face Bunny. Every word the god said as another stab of guilt, and horrid truth in Bunny's heart. "Didn't you even bother to notice how hard it was for him to walk? How scared, sad and guilty he looked? Do you EVER notice when his eyes are full of tears, Aster? Recall when you cast him out at Easter two years ago! He was using every fiber of his being not to cry when you yelled at him. And then you raised your fist. Did you not see him cringe and brace himself for a blow? He thought you'd beat him! How can he trust you now? This is blind dependence in war that Jack is using, not trust. He doesn't trust you at all, for all your verbal abuse towards him, your brutal honesty and violent tendencies!"

"I would never hit him," Bunny growled hoarsely. A weak response.

"But you did! You did, you did!" Deimos crowed, "When he tried to help you, after finding out you were the last of your kind, you nearly broke his nose, and sent him away when he'd had nothing but good intentions. He doesn't trust you. You aren't his father, no matter how much you wish it were true. Precious Jackie doesn't trust you, believe in you _or love you. _How could he? You don't believe in him."

"Shut it, would ya?! Of course I believe in hi-"

"No. You can hardly leave him on his own without having a two mile long list of things that can go horribly wrong. To you, he's practically an infant!"

"He can't control his powers. He needs looking after!" Bunny shot back, remembering the Warren after Jack found out how he lost his father. The blizzard hadn't been his choice. "I know I messed up big time with the kid, but you don't have the right to say I can't fix it! I admit my mistakes, I don't need a psychopath to call me out on them! I would never, ever hurt him, or Lifa or the other Guardians! I'm not a loose canon like you chalk me up to be!" Bunny snarled.

Deimos raised his eyebrows.

"I believe you now. North had arrived home. Very confused, and a little weary, but unharmed. Jack must be over joyed to see his grand-father figure once more. But I have to tell you, Aster. The Greek Gods, most of them, are long gone. I am not the original Deimos. Who's body do you think I stole, and...manipulated a bit to roam the world again?"

"You stole that body?!" Bunny demanded.

"Of course. I'm a demon," he smiled, "At least, that's what good Christian Jack would call me. The ignorant boy still believes in his God, as Lifa calls upon Odin, Thor, Freya and the like. You, with your God and Goddess in the Wiccan culture. Etc, etc...Well, I stole this body, changed it's facial features a bit so dear Sunny wouldn't recognize his face."

Deimos paused, and grinned, pulled his black glove off his left hand to reveal...An engagement ring?

"The boy who's soul I tore from this body? His name was Koli."

* * *

**A/N KOLI IS ACTUALLY ONE OF MY FAVORITE OC'S, SO I DECIDED TO THROW HIM IN. WELCOME TO THE STORY, KOLI.**

**YOU ARE GOING TO SUFFER.**

**(sorry, bro. S'okay, though, you'll get hugs. Your character is also very attractive, possibly some fangirls/fanart.)**

**Koli: I blame Lifa.**

**Jack: We ALL blame Lifa.**

**Lifa: I'm a queen, stfu, you peasants.**

**North: I DON'T EVEN KNOW ANYMORE, GUYS.**


	46. Chapter 46

Jack stood in the door way, staring at the floor as North looked down at Lifa in shock. The girl he saw so much as a grand daughter, and a valued colleague, who'd help save Christmas so many times simply with her artistic and mechanic skills, was in a coma.

"And dis happened from power drain?" he asked quietly.

"Yes." Jack croaked.

"Oh. How long ago?"

"Two months, exactly."

North smiled suddenly, "She'll be awake not long from now."

Jack immediately perked up, "What? Really?!"

"Of course, This has happened before at the Pole when she used her powers to...vaporize some snow. It'd buried Santoff Clausen completely, and we were desperate."

"How long did it take for her to wake up?!"

"Two to four months is her general record."

Jack felt a little light headed. Before he knew it, he felt himself pitching forward in sheer shock and relief. North caught him by his arm. "Jack?Are you alright, my boy? Are you ill?"

"N-no. Just...relieved. So, so relieved." he breathed, standing up straight. "I was scared she was gone forever. W-we have six months...I thought she might not wake up in time..."

North raised his eyebrows at Jack's reaction, and the look he cast over at Lifa. He could've sworn...

Jack jumped when North suddenly laughed, his voice booming and scaring Jack half to death. "Wh-what are you laughing about?!"

"You, Jack!"

"Eh?"

"Congratulations, my boy."

"Wha...?"

"Never thought I'd see the day, our little Jack-"

"WHAT IS IT?" Jack demanded impatiently.

North's eyes twinkled, with a knowing look.

"You are in love, aren't you, Jack?"

* * *

"I don't know who Koli is." Bunny deadpanned, unimpressed.

"How about I show you, then? My soul is in this body, but I still have his soul imprisoned. He never died, not really. He's still trapped, screaming and calling me every name in the book. I don't think he realizes how many years it's been."

"You took an innocent kid's body, without even giving him a chance to DIE?" Bunny bellowed, "HE COULD HAVE BEEN WITH HIS FAMILY BY NOW, HE COULD HAVE-"

Abruptly, Deimos's face changed. Softer features, tanner skin, kinder, stormy gray eyes instead of the cold, steely shade, younger and more boy-like. More _human. _He couldn't have been older then Lifa and Jack. He snarled, "IT WAS MY CHOICE!"

His voice was different. The accent, not like Deimos's, with the constant drawl and airy tones. More grounded, deep, a little raspy, with an accent similar to Lifa's own Norwegian lilt. "We made a DEAL. Who are you to start judging me for it?" the boy snapped, marching forward towards Bunny. "Well? WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?"

Bunny stepped back. "Oi, calm down, I'm just tryin' to help you...What do you mean a deal?"

"I let him take my body because I'd get something in return!"

Bunny realized what Koli had done. Deimos had been a demonic spirit, searching for a willing vessel. He'd offered Koli something he'd wanted more than anything, and Koli had agreed. How long ago was this? How much damage had the body taken? Deimos always wore long sleeves, a trench coat...The body could be decaying, even.

Koli, obviously the boy, lunged for him, angry, confused, and desperate. He meant to break Bunny's neck. Bunny caught his arms, and forced him back, trying not to hurt him. Whoever this kid was, he couldn't be evil. Only corrupted.

"What is the ring for?" Bunny asked gently, nodding at the bronze, woven band around Koli's left ring finger.

"What?" he blinked, not quite understanding. "That?"

"Yes. The ring. Who is it?"

"What do you mean?!" Koli shouted, almost in pain as his mind tried to work things out. He thrashed, and kicked out at Bunny, "Let go of me!"

"Who are you engaged to? That's an engagement ring. Who was it? Who did Deimos promise he'd bring back to you?"

And that was it. Those words struck Koli to the core. He couldn't remember her name. He remembered her face, her voice, her touch, and her _legend. _He knew Koli had promised he could see her again, at least one more time, to say goodbye, tell her all the things he never got to, say sorry for stealing her favorite books and all the pranks he pulled on her, tell her that he lied when he'd said she threw a weak punch. "W-we were gonna get m-married...B-but they took her a-away. And then she d-died. She _saved us."_

"Listen, Koli. I can help you get rid of Deimos. But you need to tell me what he was going to give you back in return!" Bunny repeated.

Koli shook his head, mumbling, "No, no...you can't help, no one can...He's already coming back..."

"Koli, listen, you can't let hi-"

Koli's face went blank, save for wide, terrified gray eyes. "I-I c-can't, I'm n-not strong e-enough."

"You have to _try."_

But Bunny's words fell on deaf ears. Deimos's own eye color, the cruel, cold silver so different from Koli's stormy gray streaked with blue, consumed Koli's eyes and the boy began to shriek and scream bloody murder and with incredible strength driven by pain, he wrenched his arms free from Bunny's paws and clenched his hands against his head. He clawed at his own skull, trying to force out the invisible spirit dragging his soul back into it's prison.

Bunny took out his boomerang, and cracked it over Koli's head, knocking the tortured boy unconscious just as a snarl in Deimos's voice escaped him, and catching him before he hit the ground.

"Poor kid...We'll get your soul moved on. Just buck up for a little longer, yeah?" Bunny said as he tossed the kid onto his shoulder, opening a tunnel and jumping in.

* * *

"I-I am N-n- I DON'T- wh-wha-HAH?!" Jack spluttered.

North laughed again, "You're looking at her like love-struck puppy!"

"I-I am NOT a p-puppy." was the only response Jack could muster.

"You deny you are a puppy, but you don't deny you are in love. I am right, da?"

"NORTH, YOU'RE NOT CUPID, YOU'RE SANTA."

"Your point?"

"Well, when it comes to this...SUBJECT, Cupid has common sense!" Jack paced back and forth, "H-he doesn't just blurt out something a person hasn't even a-admitted to THEMSELVES yet! I-I...For the love of God, North, You can't just point stuff out like that!"

North's smile faded. "Jack, are you alright?"

Jack kept pacing, and finally stopped at the door, grabbed the knob of it. "No. No, I'm not." he snapped, marching out of the room. North sighed, and followed. "And why is that? What is wrong?" he asked, as Jack stomped down the stairs, and out the front door.

"Jack," he repeated, firmly, as Jack prepared to take off into the air. "Do not run off. Not now. Please, tell me what is wrong."

Jack gritted his teeth. He wanted to know what was wrong? Fine. North could listen to his entire rant.

"What's WRONG? Three hundred years alone, with no one ever seeing me, hearing me, _anything _and then I'm tossed into a sack and shoved through a magic portal, dumped into a mess with nightmares and Pitch, I get cast out at Easter, WHICH WASN'T MY FAULT, I need to throw that in there, and all of a sudden, I have a family! Tooth is acting like my mother, you're giving me a place to stay, convincing me to hang out on holidays, Sandy is constantly checking in on me, BUNNY WON'T STOP TREATING ME LIKE AN INFANT! And now we're in a WAR. Let's not forget, PITCH TORTURED ME. DO YOU KNOW WHAT THAT WAS LIKE?" he screamed at the top of his lungs. He couldn't stay calm. He couldn't keep control. "WHERE THE HELL WERE YOU GUYS?! WHY DIDN'T YOU REALIZE I WAS GONE SOONER, NORTH? WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED? YOU LEFT ME THERE! WITH THE SADISTIC BASTARD, HE HURT ME. OVER, AND OVER, AND OVER, AND NO MATTER HOW MANY TIMES I BEGGED, HOW MANY TIMES I TOLD HIM THAT I DIDN'T KNOW ANYTHING, HE JUST FOUND SOME OTHER WAY TO HURT ME. I DON'T EVEN KNOW HOW TO LIVE ANYMORE, WITH THAT MAN IN MY NIGHTMARES. WITH DEIMOS AFTER THE PEOPLE I LOVE, TRYING TO KILL THEM. I THINK BUNNY IS GOING INSANE! HE'LL JUST START MUMBLING IN GAELIC TO HIMSELF, IT'S CREEPING THE HELL OUT OF ME! AND THEN DEIMOS DID THIS TO LIFA. IT'S MY FAULT, NORTH, SHE SAVED MY SORRY ASS, AND NOW IF ANYTHING HAPPENS TO HER, SHE WON'T BE ABLE TO STOP IT. IF SHE EVER GETS HURT, I'LL NEVER FORGIVE MYSELF. I HAVE BEEN ALONE, AND USELESS, EVEN NOW!"

Every word hit North to the core, clawing at his conscience, at his center, even. But he just stood there, and took it all. Jack needed to vent.

"AND I DO. I DO LOVE HER. THERE, I SAID IT. AND BONUS? IT TERRIFIES ME MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE. THREE HUNDRED YEARS, NORTH, OF BEING ALONE. I DON'T EVEN KNOW HOW TO ACT AROUND YOU GUYS, HOW THE HELL DO I COPE AROUND LIFA?! AND AS LONG AS DEIMOS AND PHOBOS ARE OUT THERE, SHE'S TERRIFIED AND HER LIFE IS THREATENED. I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO, WHAT TO SAY, WHAT IS HAPPENING. I DON'T UNDERSTAND ANYTHING ANYMORE! BUNNY NEVER TELLS ME ANYTHING-"

"Jack," North interrupted quietly, "That is enough."

North walked up to him, and knelt down to Jack's height, placing his hands on the teenager's scrawny shoulders. Jack was shaking from head to toe, angry and scared. "I am sorry. I am so, so sorry I was not there to help you sooner. But Pitch is GONE. He can never hurt you again. And Bunny...Well, Gaelic is a magic language, Jack. He is casting spells. That is the only use he has for Gaelic now that he speaks different languages."

"Wh-what?"

"He put protective spells on the house, yes?" North prodded gently. When Jack nodded, he smiled. "Jack, Protective spells need to be renewed constantly. He's just keeping them strong. They demand the attention of the sorcerer who made them. He's just distracted, that's all. And Lifa will wake soon. You know how strong she is. She will fight, and we will win this war. And you don't have to TRY to learn how to be around people, Jack. It comes naturally. Just go with flow, da?"

Jack sighed, shaking his head. "You make it sound easy. North, this is a girl my age I'm talking about here. A lot worse than you think. People are scary. Girls are scary!"

Well, North didn't argue with THAT. Tooth, after all, was terrifying when provoked. He laughed lightly, "It's not something you need to work for. If it's meant to be, it'll happen. Do not worry anymore."

"So what do we DO? I can't stand the waiting anymore, waiting for all hell to break loose."

"I'm afraid that's exactly what we must do, Jack." North answered sadly. "Waiting is all we can do."

"I don't think I'll make it," Jack groaned.

North chuckled, "Patience is a virtue, my boy. Are you sure you're alright?"

"Y-yeah. Just needed to blow off steam. I've been doing that a lot lately." Jack looked away from him. "I'm sorry I yelled. You didn't deserve it."

"It is alright. And I did deserve it. I should ha-"

"JACK. WE HAVE A PROBLEM."

Jack and North turned around to see Bunny hopping out of a tunnel. Okay, normal. Not normal? He was carrying a kid who resembled Deimos waaay too closely on his shoulder. Unconscious, with a bruise on his forehead. Bunny however, looked like he'd just had a majorly failed therapy session with a guilt counselor.

"Bunny." Jack struggled to keep his voice calm, "Why is Deimos here?"

"Err...It's not Deimos."

"Oh, no," North muttered.

Bunny glanced away.

"He's Lifa's fiancee."

Jack, to put it delicately, flipped the fuck out, and promptly buried the entire area within a three mile radius in a foot-and-a-half deep snow within eight minutes. "_WHAT THE HELL!"_

* * *

**A/N gave up a bit on the end here. I got impatient with the progress, and went, "Fuck it, we're going for a somewhat funny ending."**

**R and R and all that shit. Au Revior, mon amis.**


	47. Chapter 47

Tooth pursed her lips as Koli, the boy Bunny had brought back to the house recently, squirmed under the blanket and moaned in pain. She wrung out the cloth that she'd just brought, and lay it across his forehead. "Guys, his fever isn't going down."

Jack didn't answer. He sat in a chair in the corner, arms crossed, and glowering. Bunny and North exchanged worried glances. Jack was thoroughly conflicted. Kill Koli, he kills Deimos. But Koli was a human being, his age, and barely enduring unbelievable suffering. Jack remembered when he'd asked Bunny how bad it was.

_Bunny hesitated. "Um...remember what Pitch did to you."_

_Jack cringed, "No. How about we don't use that as an example?"_

_"I rest my case. It's about twenty or thirty times worse."_

_After that, Jack could not longer cast a glare at Koli. He only felt bad for him._

Bunny went around opening the windows, "We can't do anything about it, Tooth. He made a deal with Deimos to see someone he loved again. That's Lifa, his best friend, and the girl he was gonna marry. Now he knows Deimos has hurt her, so he's fighting back. Either he wins, or..." Bunny looked grim, "Deimos takes his anger out on the kid."

"And what will become of him then?" North asked.

"His soul could be destroyed, and Deimos will use the body until it decays enough that it's useless. I'm surprised the body isn't rotting yet. Kid must have quite a free will in him. Or, Deimos could demolish him completely and seek out a new body to steal."

"So either way, if Koli loses, he'll die." Tooth confirmed. "Anyway we can help him beat Deimos?"

"No...he'll probably die even if he wins, anyway. He may not look it, but as soon as Deimos leaves, his body will be too old to function anymore. Visibly, he didn't age. Internally, yes. Something will give out. I wouldn't be surprised if his lungs or heart or somethin' isn't already kaput."

"Bunny, you're too pessimistic."

"I'm realistic. This is what I did before Easter came around, remember? Clean up the messes of dark spirits and Fearlings."

Tooth and North sighed in unison, and Jack looked back and forth between them. Finally he asked, "What'll happen to Deimos after?"

"Eh, turn into a poltergeist for a minute, break some stuff, and then go straight to finding a new vessel. Could be one of us, could be the damn Prime Minister of Britain, or a school drop out of some sort. Doesn't matter. He'll need one to stay alive."

"Any idea what he will choose?" North asked.

Bunny frowned for a minute, "Well, I know spirits like Deimos. They're creepy, sadistic, love manipulating people. Especially if they're young. They love hurting...well..."

"Children," Tooth offered, replacing the cloth again, and putting her hand on Koli's chest when he started to shudder uncontrollably, to try and make him stay still. All it did was make him confused, that someone was touching him, and not hurting him.

Bunny nodded grimly, "If he had to choose one of us, it'd be Jack he'd take. Mostly because Jack's powers have nothing to do with light, and he's young. But the next vessel can't have an attachment to the old. Bloodline, or emotional. Deimos has to start completely new with each vessel."

"He sounds like a demon." Jack muttered. "Ya know...when I was human, My church got a new Pastor, before I died. Horrible man. Only lectured us about demons, and how we're all going to Hell, the pessimistic kind of "man of God"."

"Deimos is what demons come from. From vampires, to angry ghosts, to demons, Deimos's kind is what they really are. You've got the right idea, Jack. But Koli isn't gonna sleep forever. No, he'll wake up soon. Someone needs to talk to him."

Bunny glanced at all of them, and sighed, "North and I will just scare him. Tooth, well, he's been cut off from affectionate contact for centuries. Mothering him will just drive him away...Maybe-"

"I can do it," Jack suggested. They all looked at him in surprise. He continued, "I know where Koli is coming from...being cut off."

"Jackie, this is different," Bunny protested, "You...you had NO contact at all." All the Guardians simultaneously sulked from guilt. Bunny pressed on, "But Koli...he's been in pain for years, and years. And now that he's finally fighting back, it just hurts more."

"I can do it." Jack repeated. "Besides, who do you have who's a better shot? And you all have Guardian work to do. Bunny needs to keep doing whatever witchy stuff he's been doing to help-"

"Tracking Phobos!" Bunny protested, "Advanced magic!"

"-Tooth needs to collect teeth, and North has major Christmas prepping to catch up on." Jack finished.

"Jack is right," North mused, "We all have our duties."

"And we need to keep believers..." Tooth added.

"Okay, fine. You can look after Koli." Bunny gave in. But just because he gave in, didn't mean he was remotely happy about it. Deimos could lash out. And if he lashed out, he'd aim it all at Jack.

* * *

The other Guardians had left Jack on his own in the room. North off to Santoff Clausen, Tooth off to Tooth Palace, Bunny to try and clean up what was left of the Warren. Jack dragged the chair over to the bed, and plunked down in it. Koli shivered visibly at the sudden presence of the cold. Jack scowled, "You're just gonna have to deal with it. It's good for you, anyway." he muttered, taking the cloth from the teen's forehead, chilling it again, and replacing it.

Jack's scowl faltered. This kid wasn't Deimos, and he needed to get a grip on that. He even looked different. Kinder, human, _alive. _Well, not a whole lot alive, but still, he had a soul. He was harmless. Jack sat there for a moment, taking in the kid's appearance. He facial structure was young, and he wasn't any older than Jack could've been, at least physically. He had a straight nose with a bump in the bridge that was a sure sign his nose had been broken once, or a few times. A scar ran along the left side of his jaw, and Jack frowned. He'd seen scars like that. He even had a few. That was the kind left behind by a switch, like a thin branch used as a relatively less devastating whip, but it certainly hurt enough to make anyone cringe at the idea of being it's target. Jack spotted a few more of them on his neck, and poking out through the collar of the collar of the blue pajama's he was wearing. (Yes, Jack had been forced to give up his one set of pajama's so Koli didn't have to wear the creepy black, expensive suit and trench coat Deimos preferred)

Koli had thick, overgrown coal black hair, lightly curled but dull, and could definitely use a good wash. His face was ashen, deathly pale, almost a yellowed shade of skin, which told Jack he must have a darker skin tone. High cheek bones, a strong jaw. He would've been a lot better looking, and intimidating, if he hadn't been so drastically thin and undernourished. This guy probably used to be a viking, an amazing warrior, and then he'd lost the most important person in his life. He'd been so desperate to fight to get her back, he let someone take his body, take away his free will, and in return, this is what he got. Abuse. Pain. Starvation. Terror.

And at this moment, his dark, coal black eyebrows were scrunched together from pain, his chest heaving weakly as he struggled to breathe, to stay alive. Every muscle tight with pain, his starved frame shuddering in fear and pain. Jack shivered at the new thoughts. This had been someone's child, their friend, son, neighbor...Fiancee.

"Forget it, I don't care who you are," Jack muttered, "Even if you were engaged to Sunshine. No one deserves this."

Jack sat in silence after that, fidgeting nervously. After about twenty minutes, he reached over to replace the cloth again, and practically shrieked in shock when Koli's hand closed around his wrist with incredible speed. Jack stood frozen, while Koli's storm gray eyes glared at him distrustfully, the teenager breathing in short, rapid breaths of fear and confusion. Jack tried to pull his hand away, but Koli flinched away, and tightened his grip with long, thin and weak fingers. Jack stopped moving instinctively. The look on the guy's face reminded him all too much of a cornered, abused animal. Which actually wasn't too far from what he really was.

"You have a fever," Jack began speaking quietly. Koli cringed, startled from the sound. Jack swallowed nervously, "I just need to change the cloth. I'm trying to help."

"Don't believe you," Koli rasped, "Get away."

"I can't do that if you're holding on t-"

Jack didn't even finish the sentence before Koli released his hand, and scooted as far back away from Jack as he could, against the wall the bed as pushed up against. Koli drew his knees to his chest, putting his back against the wall, wrapping his arms around his chins and glaring at Jack over his knees. "Get away," he repeated, his voice developing a canine like growl.

Jack stood up slowly. "Okay...okay, I'm going...Just...stay calm, okay?" he spoke quietly, low, backing away to the other side of the room. Sliding down with his back against the wall, he took the same position as Koli. It seemed like hours, that they stayed like that. Koli glared, and never seemed to blink. Jack felt oddly compelled to keep eye contact with him. But Jack finally broke eye contact, and Koli seemed to relax a little.

Then Jack realized that Koli was completely running on an animal instinct. He'd been trying to prove to Jack that he was dominant, that he shouldn't be challenged, and if Jack didn't want his throat torn out, Jack was going to avoid antagonizing Koli at all costs. Jack sighed silently. If that's what made the guy stop being so high-strung, fine. He could sacrifice his pride.

"Who are you?" Koli asked suddenly. His voice was deeper than Jack would've expected, still with a painful rasp spread over it.

"Jack." he answered quietly. "You?"

"Koli."

"That's a weird name."

"Not where I'm from. Yours is weird."

"What does yours mean?"

"Coal. Black." Koli lifted a finger to point at his head, meaning his dark hair.

"Jackson is my full name. Son of Jack."

"So you have a father."

"No. Well...an adoptive one."

"Is he nice?"

Jack cocked his head, a little confused. "Yeah...Grumpy, but not mean. What was your dad like?"

Koli's eyes darkened even more. He brushed his fingers over the bridge of his nose, over the bump, and stopped his hand over his jaw over the scar. "Uh..."

"He did that?"

"Yeah..."

"Oh. I'm sorry."

"Whatever."

Jack and Koli fell into silence again. Jack took the pathetic excuse for a conversation as an invitation to be able to stand up. Jack got to his feet, but Koli reacted by breathing in sharply and trying to sink back into the wall, scrambling desperately to get away. Jack raised his hands to show he wasn't armed or anything, but Koli just cringed, and threw his arms up, wrapping them over his head. Jack was over ten feet away, how did Koli expect to receive a blow from Jack in the first place, even if he'd intended to hit him at all?

"Koli. I'm not going to hurt you."

"Liar," Koli croaked, "Liar. Liar. Liar..."

"I'm not lying."

"Everyone lies. Always lying. Always, always..." Koli took up some sort of mantra, muttering about liars and everyone.

"Do I look like everyone?" Jack interrupted.

Koli didn't answer.

"Koli."

Koli shook his head.

"Koli, come on, look at me. How many guys do you know with white hair? Not a lot?"

Koli nodded this time, still not looking up. Jack smiled, "See? I'm not everyone."

Koli lifted his head hesitantly. "If you are lying...I'll break your neck."

"I'll take your word for it." Jack walked over and sat down in the chair again. "So, come on. Talk to me."

"What?"

"You haven't talked to anyone in decades, right?"

"Well, yeah..."

"So you probably want to talk?"

"Is that a suggestion or an order?"

Jack shrugged, and spread his hands dismissively, "I'm not ordering you to do anything. You're not a prisoner here."

"So, I could walk out if I want." Koli muttered.

"Eh, if you can walk...you're a patient, actually. We're kind of trying to keep you from dying."

Koli laughed humorously. "Oh, is that so? Good luck. From the pain that's bugging me now, you're all just dragging it out."

"You don't seem to be in pain..." Jack frowned.

"I have an excellent tolerance."

"Ah."

Koli and Jack both fell back into silence. Jack waited in patience, and nervousness, for Koli to walk out, or actually talk. But Koli was having a much more difficult debate. He did want to talk, because he'd never been given the..._privilege _to speak. He had been forced into silence by Deimos, the evil spirit who possessed, dominated, abused and silenced him. He'd thought his voice had been gone for good, and now that he was able to use it again, despite how much it hurt his throat, and rang in his ears, it was the most wonderful thing he'd felt in centuries. So, back to the question. Talk, or ditch? It took a moment, but he made up his mind.

"So do you."

"What?"

Koli glanced up at him. "I can tell. You've been tortured, haven't you?"

Jack flinched, and leaned back, speechless. Scared, even. "H-how do you...?"

"Same eyes. Ya know, what people called the eyes of a haunted man? Also, there's the dark bags you're carrying around under your eyes, the defensive clutching-your-staff stance..." Koli waved his hand dismissively. "Don't lie. I know someone like me when I see them."

Jack crossed his arms, muttering, "I guess you're right...So where do you come from?"

Koli frowned for a minute, straining to remember. "Berk."

"I've only heard it's name a few times. What was it like?"

Koli shrugged, "A few degrees south of freezing to death, right in the meridian of misery...Only upsides were the pets. Dragons," for the first time, Koli actually smiled, some of his pain forgotten. "I had a dragon."

"Never seen a dragon." Jack deadpanned.

"You might not have known it when you saw it. There are so many, you could have thought it was an iguana."

"Whoa, really?"

"Yes, really, that's what I just said." Koli muttered irritably. "You're about as bright as a Zippleback, aren't you?"

Jack looked dumbfounded, "What's a Zippleback?"

"Two headed dragon. Two heads, half a brain between them both."

"You're really snarky, you know that?"

"I'm a Viking." Koli raised his arms as if flexing, to show a point of strength, but it did nothing. His arms were unbelievably thin, as was the rest of him, "We're all like that."

"Yeah, I'm a colonist."

"What."

"A colonist." Jack repeated.

"What the heck is a colonist?"

"Eeh, someone who was part of this new nation. The first thirteen states of America." Jack explained, "Ya know, during the Revolutionary War between the U.S and Britain. I was a patriot, like my dad. He fought in the war, actually. Came back when I was five years old after the U.S won."

"You liked your father, then." Koli wilted visibly. "He was a good guy?"

"The best," Jack began to smile, but then the realization hit him, along with his smile being shattered. "Oh my God."

"Huh?"

"Your father."

"What about him?" Koli muttered through gritted teeth.

"He abused you. That's...that's why you can handle Deimos. Because you're used to it?"

Koli fell silent for a moment, falling into bad memories. Finally, he said, "I told my best friend about it. She told her father. Thus, he was kicked out of the village. Best day of my life. Well, one of the best." he said, scooting forward on the bed again to lay down. Promptly pulling the blanket over himself, and the pillow over his head, feeling the sudden need to hide.

"Who was your best friend?" Jack asked, deciding it was something Koli would feel better talking about.

"The Chief's daughter...a pipsqueak. I always called her that. I wouldn't have gotten my dragon without her help."

"Umm...what kind of dragon was it?"

"I don't remember."

"Best friend's name?"

"Pipsqueak."

"What, really?"

"No. It's her nickname. I...I don't remember her actual name."

Jack sighed, "You really have a lot of memory problems, huh. Deimos must have done that."

Jack immediately regretted mentioning Deimos, because Koli's reaction was to flinch and curl up in a tight ball of defense, fear and pain. When Koli spoke again, Jack filled with dread. Koli's voice was gone, replaced with Deimos's drawling, condescending exotically accented voice, an accent caught between a creepy British, or a native Greek. "If you want to know so much about the boy, you could've just asked me. I have all his memories at my disposal."

"I don't care about who he is, I just care that HE isn't YOU. Leave him alone!"

"You barely know him."

"No one deserves this."

"He could take Lifa away from you."

"I already came to terms with that. Her love life isn't my decision. She's happy, I'm...happy." he said, trying to sound sure of himself.

"Hm, well, I just think you should understand how much you might NEED this boy." Deimos/Koli sat upright. Koli's body had gone through no change, telling Jack Deimos barely had a hold on him now. But even so, with lightning speed, his hands shot out, seized Jack by his hair, and yanked him forward. "The Tooth fairy isn't the ONLY one with some memory tricks." Deimos/Koli smiled, before touching his forehead to Jack's.

It felt like an red hot, iron poker being driven between his eyes before Jack was dumped into Koli's memories.


	48. Author's Note

**I know this is the last thing you all want to see, but I'm so sorry it's been so long since I updated. Complications with school and home prevented me from having time to update, and also, it got the better of my own behavior, and now I'm grounded from my laptop until the end of the school year. **

**Fortunately, the school years ends on June 4th, which is less than a week away. The next chapter is saved and almost complete, so possibly THIS WEEKEND, I can update. I'm using my mother's ipad to type this, and the keyboard on it is too difficult to use to finish the entire chapter, trust me, it's terrible, and it makes my writing bad quality, and you guys deserve the best.**

**Promise, it's less than a week away. But guess what? New character has been created and shall be introduced. This story will have a sequel where he shows up! **

**So hang in there, guys, I promise it's not much longer.**


	49. Chapter 49

A six year old boy with coal black hair, storm gray eyes, tanned skin, and scraped knees, chin and forehead squirmed on the table top, whining, "Mommy, I'm okay, let me go back out!"

"You're filthy, and if I don't clean these up, they'll get infected." His mother replied stubbornly, gently wiping the blood and dirt from her son's knees. She had the blond hair touched with red in natural highlights, thick, rolling waves pulling back in a pony tail, and sparkling, pale blue eyes, not far from Koli's eye color. She was rather fair skinned, however, meaning Koli hadn't inherited all his traits from her. But the slim face, high cheek bones, and low, thin and dark eyebrows, smooth brow was the same. It was clear he'd grow up to be very handsome, but at the moment, with a scraped up face, he looked every bit a small child.

"You know, if you were more careful..." his mother began, and Koli groaned loudly.

"I was being careful! I just got pushed. By the that really small girl."

"Who?" his mother asked, beginning to clean up the bloody scrape on his chin.

He paused, "The little one. She's my age, I think...but really small. She's got the brown hair, and the big eyes and the black dragon carries her around...Mommy, I don't think she can walk."

His mother frowned. She knew the girl, the chief's daughter. Frail, premature. Her spirit was strong, but her body was not. Everyone knew that she couldn't walk far on her own, because she didn't have a pair of strong legs, not now, at least, and she most certainly couldn't run. Her breath would leave her lungs, if her legs didn't give out first. But it was an unspoken agreement, let the dragon help her. Their strong bond kept her from seeing there was anything wrong with being carried, as she needed to be. Koli's mother pursed her lips, and asked, "Why did she push you?"

"I asked her why she couldn't walk normal- YEOW!" Koli yelped as the cloth scraped painfully against his chin. His mother crossed her arms.

"Koli," she said softly, like she did when she was disappointed, "You hurt her feelings very badly. That was Lifa, Mr. Haddock's daughter. She wasn't born strong, like you or the other kids. She can walk, but it makes her very, very tired. That's why her dragon carries her."

"Why isn't she strong?" Koli frowned. "She's a viking like us, isn't she?"

"Yes, but...Well, Koli, some babies are born quite small. And if they are, they aren't strong. She was that kind of baby. But physical strength isn't all a Viking is. A Viking is loyal, sometimes intelligent, and stubborn. I'm sure she has plenty of stubbornness and smarts, to be able to pickpocket you on a regular basis."

"She's a bandit!"

"No, she likes apples, and you happen to have one every day, and you let her get away with it, because you think she's pretty."

"MOM!"

His mother laughed, standing up straight again, "Alright, you're all cleaned up. You can head back outs-"

She didn't even finish the sentence before Koli was out the door, eager to go back to playing outside. His mother shook her head, smiling, "Boy can't stay still for ten seconds..."

* * *

Koli sat in his room, on his bed, silent. It was his father's birthday. He knew that. But it was never spoken about, or even acknowledged, by him and his mother. Why would they? He was non-existent. But now...It wasn't fair. Koli was angry. He didn't understand why. He had his mother, she was all he needed. That was enough. Wasn't it?

But he just wanted to know WHY. Why wasn't his father there? Why was he NEVER there? He hadn't even stuck around for when Koli was born.

"Koli? Sweet heart, what's wrong?"

Koli lifted his head to look at the door his mother was pushing open. She gazed at him with concern, and walked into the room, and sat down on the bed next to him. "Come on, little man, talk to me."

Koli hid his face in his arms again, as tears welled up, and the lump in his throat became larger, and painfuller. He didn't want to cry. There wasn't a reason to, his father was nothing worth crying over...His mother sighed silently, and pulled him close into a hug, squeezing him tightly, and rocking him back and forth gently. Koli locked his arms around her, burying his face into her shirt, and crying quietly. She brushed her hand over his hair, jet black and softly curled like his father's, murmuring and cooing words of comfort.

"H-he doesn't w-want me, d-does he?" Koli sobbed, "He left b-because of ME."

His mother pulled him into her lap, cradling him close, "Now you know that's not true, and it doesn't matter, anyway."

"But _why?! _Why doesn't he want me, Mom? Why? What's wrong with me?!" Koli demanded, looking up at her with his tear-soaked face. His mother brushed her thumb across his cheek, wiping away trickling tears, "There isn't a single thing wrong with you. It's his loss. You're wonderful, Koli. There are so many things wrong with him if he left you."

"You don't believe that," Koli sobbed, tears coming faster.

"No. No, you're wrong, I do believe that." his mother replied firmly, curling on arm around him, and resting her other hand against his head, combing her fingers through his hair. "I love you, Koli, and there is never anything that will ever change that, damn your father and damn everything else that tries. I'll always love you."

Koli hugged his mother tighter, leaning against her, taking in those words. He didn't need his father. His mother was more than enough. He finally sighed contentedly, closing his eyes, and murmured, "I love you, too."

And he believed that. They both did.

* * *

Koli watched the trainees in the Academy walking into the Academy Arena, to meet up with the dragons and their teacher. Koli sighed, sitting on the benches outside, resting his chin in his hands, and his elbows on his knees. He did this everyday, watch them train and learn about dragons. He was only nine years old now, not old enough to begin training. Kids started at ages twelve and thirteen. Koli felt no connection to the common breeds. Everyone clicked with them, but he didn't. He sighed again.

Koli frowned. His pant pocket suddenly felt lighter...

"Hey!" he whirled around to see a small girl with cascading, dark copper curls, large hazel eyes (Koli always thought "Wow!" whenever he saw those eyes. Not that he'd admit it.) fair skin, freckles across her nose and cheekbones, a pale yellow tunic, oversized fur vest, brown leggings, fur boots...Also biting into the apple she'd pickpocketed from him. She raised her eyebrows innocently before chewing and swallowing. "Hey." she said back.

"Lifa, could you for once not let me starve?!"

She smirked, "No, but you could stop spacing out so often, and then maybe you'd notice when I pickpocket you."

"You're evil," Koli grumped, but scooted over on the bench. Lifa plunked down next to him, taking another large bite out of the apple. Lifa pulled another one out of her pocket, "Here."

"Wait, you have your own?" Koli demanded, taking the apple, "Why do you always steal mine?!"

"Because, it's funny." she smiled. "Besides, don't get so worked up. I pay you back, don't I?"

Koli shrugged, and sat in silence with her, eating their apples. Over the past three years, he and Lifa had grown quite close. They tormented each other relentlessly, got in physical fights (not too serious), wreaked mischief and havoc, and quite frankly, were a devious duo and inseparable. Still, she always managed to bring out Koli's softer side. Only when Lifa seemed to need him. Which, was often. Koli glanced at her for a moment, looking her up and down quickly. Originally, he'd been unable to stand her. But Lifa had shown an impressively devious mind full of great ideas, and Koli had been dragged into more than one of her "adventures", as she put it. He became her friend whether or not he'd want to in the first place, considering he was magnetized to her somehow via fate.

"Toothless doesn't help you walk anymore," he observed quietly. "Did you walk all the way through the village?"

"Yep. I don't get so tired anymore." Lifa chirped, tossing the apple core over her shoulder casually. Casual. She always acted this way, when her premature birth's effects were ever brought into conversation. "Walking is no big deal. I can run farther now, too. Breathing is easier."

Koli smiled, "Way to go," he said, punching her lightly in the shoulder, an action of praise and affection. Lifa smiled sheepishly, rubbing her shoulder, even though the punch hadn't hurt, it tingled slightly. "Yeah, I'm pretty proud of myself. Always thought I'd be a...a weak little runt."

Koli winced. He hated the word runt, especially coming from his best friend, his partner in crime. "You're not a weak little runt."

"Then why do you call me Pipsqueak?" she grumbled.

"Why do you call me Beanpole?"

"Aahh...Err..."

Koli smiled, "It's a friendly, tough-love nickname. You're little, yes, but weak? No. And lets face it, I kind of am a beanpole..."

Lifa laughed, and grabbed Koli's arm, "Yes, with these noodly arms, you most definitely are, indeed, a beanpole." Koli shoved her hand off, scowling with mock anger, "I don't have noodle arms! Come on, I'll prove it. Let's arm wrestle, right now!"

"On, you're on! What do you bet?" Lifa grinned, as they both hopped off the bench, got down on their knees next to it, and used it as a table top, locking their hands together. Koli thought for a moment, "Okay, I win, you have to bring me TWO apples everyday for a week."

"What's with us and apples, honestly..." Lifa muttered. She grinned, "Okay, deal. I win, you have to drink a whole mug of my mother's Yaknog recipe."

Koli looked horrified, "Oh, god, you wouldn't dare..."

"Oh, yes I would. Ready, START!"

Koli had barely tensed his arm before Lifa slammed the back of his hand against the bench, thus, winning the bet. She stood up, and cackled, "HA! I win! Enjoy your Yaknog, Beanpole!"

"H-h-HOW DID YOU EVEN-" Koli sputtered, jumping to his feet, genuinely surprised at Lifa's sudden show of physical strength. Lifa smirked, crossing her arms, "I'm stronger than I look."

Koli groaned, "You're evil. I can hear it in your laugh."

Lifa opened her mouth to make a salty reply, but chaos erupted from the town. People began running, shouting, and most of them heading for the forge where weapons were already being handed out. Lifa frowned, "What's up with them?"

Koli climbed up onto the bench and stood on tip toe to see. "I think...I think someone is attacking us!"

"Who would atta-" Lifa began, before someone shouted, "OUTCASTS! ARCHERS TO YOUR MARK!"

Lifa looked at Koli, and he looked back at her. Lifa said quietly, "I'm going to go find my Dad," before Koli dropped his attention from her, becoming a little more interested in his surroundings.

Koli spun around in several circles. It had barely been two minutes, but the village was already going to Hell. Koli couldn't tell who was who. Who ran past him, who shouted at him, what they said, or what he was even supposed to be doing. Koli wandered around a short distance, trying to catch someone's attention, until someone seized him by the arm, and yanked him off of his feet. Koli turned his head, and scrunched up his face at the foul smell of out-dated fish, alcohol, smoke and the sour smell of a man who hadn't bathed in a very long time. He could barely see a face through the thick, black beard, helmet, chain mail and the armor. But he knew who this was. WHAT he was. Koli blinked stupidly, opened his mouth to say something, but found that he was frozen and speechless. The man simply raised his hammer to smash his head like a pumpkin.

He didn't get that far, because an half-eaten apple smashed into his eye, having been launched by an excellent throwing arm. The man shouted in surprise, and Koli took his chance by sinking his teeth in the man's hand that was gripping his arm. Disgusting! He knew they were all Vikings, but how hard was it to clean up every few days, at LEAST?

Koli hit the ground, from a surprisingly high height, and scrambled to his feet, being helped up by small hands gripping his arm. "Come on, Bean Pole, we gotta go! It's a raid!" Lifa shouted over the noise.

"Where are we going to go?!" Koli demanded, standing over his small friend, and glancing around. Some Outcasts were noticing the two children, the only two who hadn't hidden yet, and were becoming a little interested in the new targets. Everyone was locked in combat. Fire was everywhere, courtesy of the dragons.

"We're hiding in the woods, at Raven Point. Fishlegs is taking all the kids and elders there!" Lifa responded, backing up, and turning to find a route out of the village.

"Lifa, did you find your Dad?" he asked quietly. Lifa's eyes shot a little wide, and she shook her head quietly, stiffening. Koli felt a pang go through his chest. She and her father were so close, whereas Koli had never known his own. The fact that there was a raid throughout town, and Lifa was unable to find her parents...

"Come on," Koli said, grabbed her by her waist, keeping her close to him, and breaking into a run. Switching his hand from her waist to her wrist, he pulled Lifa through the village, "We need to go, we'll be burnt to a crisp if we stand here any longer!"

Lifa was awfully quiet for a change, but twisted her wrist from his grip to grip his hand with her own, letting him lead her out of the village, to the forest trail, to catch up with the rest of the group of children and elders. Finally, Koli had to stop, feeling Lifa pull on his arm. He turned around, seeing that she had dug her heels into the ground, and was glancing back to the village that was burning, the one they had just escaped. "Koli, I need to go back."

"Are you stupid? You'll be slaughtered!" He hissed, trying to pull her along. Lifa hesitated.

"I need to find my parents..." she said in a fragile voice that Koli hated instantly. But then he let go of her hand as his own realization and dilemma hit him.

Where was his own mother?

Koli pushed down the bad feeling, and seized the small girl by her shoulders, pushing her in front of him, "They'll be fine, your mother is the best warrior in the village, and your father has Toothless, THE Night Fury! They'll be okay, but if we don't get AWAY from the village, before the fighting begins to spread out, some Outcast will find us, they'll pick us off, and we'll be DEAD, and when your parents find out that they survived, and you didn't, they'll be devastated. Now let's GO!"

Lifa turned and looked at him with big, pleading hazel eyes. But he wouldn't have it. He dragged her all the way into the woods, ignoring her quiet, grieved protests, and attempts to run away. He was bigger and stronger than she was, and he was taking advantage of it. Yes, to keep his best friend from doing something stupid, but he still hated taking advantage of Lifa's frailty.

"I hate you." Lifa finally said, as they caught up to the rest of the kids and elders.

Koli let go of her arm, and Lifa simply stood there, staring at the ground, staying silent as several people asked them if they were alright. But Lifa was heartbroken, that Koli hadn't let her go look for her parents. Koli turned away, not feeling guilty, just sad that Lifa was angry at him.

Soon, they were seated under the shelter of the trees, to wait out the raid. Lifa sat on her own, away from him, nestled in the twisted roots of a large tree. Well, large in scale to her. She sat with her knees drawn up to her chest, resting her arms on top of them, and her chin on her arms, gazing in the direction of the village, waiting. Waiting, waiting...

Koli sat some distance away from the others, but closer to them then Lifa was, and farthest from her. He knew what she was waiting for. Toothless. The dragon always came and found her. Koli looked at her, biting his lip worriedly, and then looking away. He was only recently friends with Lifa, but it was that kind of friendship that bloomed quickly, and before you knew it, they're your most trusted and loved companion. It hurt having her avoid him.

Koli sighed, and curled up on the ground as the others were doing, curled up tight in a ball of anxiety, worry, and despair. He hoped, and prayed his mother would be alright. She was an excellent warrior, particularly with sword play. She was also a healer. Of course she stayed behind to help. Koli closed his eyes, clenching his hands into fists, and muttering, "Nothing bad will happen. No bad happen, no bad happen..." a childish mantra driven by his fear. What if she wasn't okay? She was his whole life. She loved him, flaws, failures, screw-ups, successes, everything about him, even the fact that his father left solely for the reason of not wanting to BE a father, she loved Koli more than anything. And if she was gone...

Koli screwed his eyes shut was he felt hot tears prick his eyes. No. He wasn't going to cry, at least not yet. How stupid would it be if he bawled his eyes out, and went back to the village, and she was just fine? How pathetic would that be? No, no crying. Sleep. It was time to go to sleep, and see what the morning brought.

Sleep.

The next morning, the raid was over, and they were woken to the wonderful sight of villagers and dragons waking them up. Children and grandparents embraced their families, relieved, and dragons happily reunited with friends. Koli sat up, shaking leaves from his hair, as he heard Lifa's laugh of joy, and her cry of, "Toothless!" as the Night Fury bowled her over, knocking the tiny girl to the ground, and nudging her face with his nose, both gently and excitedly. Lifa scrambled to her feet, and ran directly into the waiting arms of her mother and father, who hugged her tightly. Chief Stoick, elderly, but strong and victorious, was checking up on all the families, assuring their safety.

Koli looked around, trying to spot a woman with strawberry blond hair in the crowd. But he didn't find her. Finally, he wandered over to Stoick, and reached up, tugging on the man's fur cape, "S-sir?"

Stoick looked down at him, "Koli? What is it?"

"I-I can't find my mom..."

Stoick closed his eyes, sighing as if he had seen this coming and dreaded it, and knelt down in front of Koli, "I'm sorry, son, but she-"

Stoick didn't finish before Koli's eyes got as wide as they possibly could, and he whispered, "No. No! She can't b-" his voice cut out, his throat tightening painfully. He couldn't speak, he couldn't think straight, and he most definitely couldn't stand. He didn't even realize his knees had buckled until Stoick caught him, and asked him to take deep breaths, and calm down. But he couldn't. His entire body shook with heaving, chest-racking sobs, curling in on himself, and clenching his hands over his mouth to muffle the grief-stricken screams that he couldn't stop from coming out. "_NO NO NO! YOU'RE LYING, SHE CAN'T BE GONE, SHE'S NOT GONE!"_

Even though she wasn't the only one lost, Koli was the most devastated. Everyone who lost someone in this raid had someone to fall back on, but Koli had only had his mother. The boy wailed and sobbed, crying for his mother, and all the villagers could do was watch, and then drag him home as he fought and cursed them, called them liars, and begged for his mother. And they had to ignore his cries, because they couldn't help him.

They could only patch up what was left of his life, and hope he could survive.

* * *

Koli stood on the shore of Berk, glaring out at trader Johan's ship. It was dropping off a passenger. Koli's glare hardened. He was twelve years old now. He knew who was getting off the ship. He just hated him more than anything.

But he needed to live with someone. At least until he was grown up. He just wanted to know why he was here at all. Koli's eyes darkened as he watched the man walk down the gangplank, carrying a medium-sized pack on his shoulder. He had dark hair, like Koli, thick and straight, a crooked nose, but other wise, looked just like Koli. As he should.

Koli glared up at the man as he came to stand in front of him. He smelled like mead, and smoke. An alcoholic. The similar dark, steel-cold gazes from both males were almost identical. As they should be...

This man was Koli's father.

* * *

Koli coughed as blood dripped from his nose. Okay, not dripped. Gushed, spurted, flooded, those were more accurate words. His father towered over the boy, "What in the hell makes you think can talk back to me? I am your FATHER. You show me respect, you little bastard!" he snarled, kicking Koli in the ribs for the...fourteenth time? Koli was done counting.

Koli choked, and hit the ground on his side again, buckling from the pain. Sure, a small beating was a little bit of a harsh punishment, and understandable for disrespect, but completely bludgeoning him wasn't right. Koli had never been beaten like this, never felt this much pain coursing through his thin body. He wished his mother was here. She would run the man through with a sword for even raising his hand to strike Koli. But she wasn't here. More blows rained down on him, and all Koli could do was curl up tightly to protect himself as much as possible.

He hurt. God, it hurt so much. He vaguely wondered how bad the bruising would be. Would anyone notice? Was his father even hitting him anywhere it would show? No, not really.

This wasn't the first, or the last time, Koli's father would hit him. Gods no, it was definitely not the first or last. It was the beginning of a seemingly endless line of bruising, and bashing. Koli took it in silence, curling up in a tight ball when he got the chance, anything to lessen horrible injuries. He got cracked ribs, fingers, toes, a broken nose he lied about.

Would Lifa notice his pained walking pace? Would she even care? She wasn't too happy with him lately. He'd closed himself off from everyone since his mother was slaughtered by Outcasts. He barely spoke, barely socialized. Lifa tried to be his friend. She remained open to him. But Koli didn't take that chance.

The beatings sometimes came with no reason. Koli began to suspect this man hit him just for the satisfaction of dominating him, taking away Koli's free will. Koli knew why his mother never welcomed his father home. His mother knew he was no good, and would just get worse. His father didn't leave. His mother kicked him out.

Koli cried the first few times when the beatings came. His father mocked him, mimicked his voice and taunted him, called him pathetic, and immature, pitiful and weak. But Koli didn't cry because of the pain. Not really. He cried because his mother wasn't there to clean up his cuts, and kiss his forehead, and make the pain feel not as bad as it had to begin with. She wasn't there to say comforting words, to threaten and banish his abuser, and to teach him how to fight back the next time. But she was gone. And that was why he was being hurt at all. He cried from grief.

The grief never went away, because his father constantly reminded him of her absence. He never told anyone it was happening. Koli could never admit how much he feared the man. His father could kill him, if he wanted to, and what would a beanpole boy like Koli be able to do? What would happen if he tried to fight back, or told someone?

He was so terrified of what might happen, he never tried.

* * *

Koli glared at the surface of the water, perched on a rock hanging over it. He was at the cove, for the first time in forever. He rarely came here nowadays, mostly because Lifa hung out here all the time to draw or skip rocks. She had taught him how to do that, but now, he was just plain crappy at it. She had taught him lots of things. Knife throwing, tree climbing, how to throw a good punch and kick, how to pick locks and shoot arrows...Skipping rocks was just a small thing on the long list of what she had taught him that he was forgetting how to do.

It was hard to skip rocks with three injured fingers, anyway.

Koli rubbed his eyes tiredly, pushing his over-grown black hair back. He didn't deserve her. He was so aggressive, and closed off, lashing out when people tried to be kind to him, saying words in anger, and yet, she refused to abandon him. She always stayed quiet when he lashed out, and asked he felt any better, or if he was ready to talk yet. And he always turned his back on her. How could she help? No one could. All Koli's father was to the village was a simple fisherman, who liked his alcohol, and was unsociable. He never caused trouble, and he seemed nice enough at Snoggletog, or meetings, just quiet and slightly uninterested. No one suspected him of cruelty.

But he hadn't let Koli go to Dragon Academy. He was the only kid in the entire village who didn't go. It was months ago training began for his age group, and so far, no one was picking a bone with him about not going. It might happen soon, though, and then his father would get frustrated, and then he would take it out on Koli...

Koli threw a rock into the water, and it plunged into the abyss with an unimpressive splash.

"Wow, um...Hrh, Beanpole, you're losing your touch."

Koli whipped around to see Lifa climbing nimbly up onto the rock. She was slim and small as ever, but over the years of their distant friendship, she had changed. Most definitely grown up a bit, if not in height or weight. Her hair was longer, and like most of the other girls in their age group, she was almost a young woman now. Koli actually never had a crush on her, ever, just simply appreciated her a lot. Yes, that was possible. But now, that was a little different. She crossed her arms, looking at him. "Can I sit with you?"

Lifa took his silence as a yes, and plunked down next to him. She deflated a bit when he didn't look at her, and pulled her fur hand-me-down vest tighter around herself. Same old pale yellow tunic, brown leggings, fur boots, her belt full of tools and pouches of who-knows-what, and her several hand-made bracelets and red head-band. Koli realized she had earrings now. They suited her.

"I brought some rocks, if you want to have a skipping contest," she offered, pulling a pouch from her belt and dropping it between them. It probably had perfectly flat rocks in it, prime for skipping. She always found the best.

Koli remained silent, and Lifa looked away. He suddenly felt a pang of guilt. She was just trying to make him smile. Now he was just making her upset. Reaching over, he opened the pouch, and took out a rock, testing it's weight in his hand. Flicking his wrist, he made a very sad attempt to skip it across the water's glassy surface, but only succeeded in throwing it directly into it's depths. He scowled. He had only done it to try and cheer her up, anyway.

Lifa laughed softly, "Wow, that was pitiful. Do I need to teach you how to do it all over again?"

Koli shrugged, and watched as she picked up her own rock, and skipped it across the water. One, two, three, four, five...Six skips. He always wondered how she did that. A half hour passed, and eventually, he learned how to properly skip a rock again. He almost smiled. Almost, but still did not.

"Here,"

Koli turned his head and raised his eyebrows in question at her. She was holding an apple out to him, and was taking a bite out of her own. He took the apple from her, and was about to say thank you, when Lifa's eyes shot wide, staring at his arm. What the heck is she looking at? What, is there a bug on his sleeve or...Oh, no.

No, no, no, _no!_

His sleeve had rolled down, just a little bit, but it was enough to reveal the harsh bruises around his wrist, obviously inflicted by another person's hand. He pulled his hand back, but Lifa seized his arm, and pushed up his sleeve, revealing more bruises.

"Koli. Who did this?"

He didn't answer, only tried to pull his arm from her grip. Lifa tightened her grip, "Don't you dare start avoiding me again!"

Koli let out an involuntary yelp as her grip tightened. It hurt. It pressed against the bruises, and shot pain lacing through his arm. Lifa immediately let go, and settled for holding his hand. He couldn't pull away from her now. He could see the thoughts moving through her head. She was so smart, he knew that, and now, she was putting it all together. His anti-social tendencies, lashing out, aggressive and defensive facade, the way he flinched when people shouted or moved suddenly, especially in his general direction, and how he cringed and hated it when he was touched, his constant silence.

Koli sighed, bowing his head, submitting. It was too late. She figured it out. "My father did it." he said quietly, his voice crackly and rusty from lack of use. "I-I didn't want to t-tell anyone...B-because..."

"Oh my gods," Lifa let go of his hand, covering her face with her own, "Oh my gods, he's been...has he...this is why you...Why didn't you tell me?!"

"Because you would tell others," he whispered, feeling the familiar terror creep into his mind.

"OF COURSE I WOULD TELL OTHERS, I WOULD TELL MY FATHER AND HAVE THAT MAN BANISHED FROM THIS VILLAGE FOR CHILD ABUSE!" she exploded, jumping to her feet. Koli flinched as she shouted, and looked up at her. He felt like lashing out again, getting angry, but...He couldn't. Lifa looked like she was going to cry. She was worried. She cared, she cared so damn much and he didn't ask for her help.

He was a terrible friend for doing this to her. "I'm sorry," he whispered brokenly, "I'm sorry...I-I don't deserve y-your help..."

"Shut up. Don't apologize, you're not the one who needs to. Listen..." she sat down next to him again, "We're going to tell my father. We're going to take you to the healer and get something for...for those bruises, and a good night's sleep. Y-you're enough proof to convict your father."

Koli cringed. Him? Proof? He hated the sound of that, his bruised and battered body being "proof" to banish a man. Still, he wanted him gone. "Y-you can get r-rid of him?"

"I'll stab him in the heart a hundred damn times PERSONALLY if banishing isn't an option. I'm not letting him near you again." she growled, beautiful eyes flashing. They were a kaleidoscope of greens, browns and golds. Koli smiled, "You're not mad at me? For keeping it a secret?"

"Gods no, Koli. I've never been mad at you."

Koli's smile shattered, and his eyes widened. That shocked him. Never? Never been mad? Even how he acted lately? She had only been...concerned?

"I'm sorry." he repeated, a sob building up in his throat. Lifa was about to protest again, but she must have realized he wasn't finished talking. Koli pressed the heels of his hands against his eyes when he felt the tears well up, "I've been a t-terrible friend...I lashed out at you, a-and pushed you away, but...You...You never gave up on me. I gave up on _everything _but you never did, y-you've always been th-there for me and I w-wasn't grateful a-and..."

Lifa pulled Koli into a hug, and he locked his arms around her, burying his face in the fur of her vest, as the damn finally broke and he cried. He couldn't stop the tears this time, he felt ashamed at how brokenly he sobbed, and he was so, so grateful that Lifa held onto him, rubbed soothing circles in his back, and let him cry. He needed the gentle touch and comfort so desperately.

He never took Lifa Haddock's friendship for granted again.

* * *

He was gone. Gone, gone, gone!

They put him on a ship, and sent him away as an Outcast. Koli stood there on the dock and watched. He trembled from head to toe, so shocked and relieved that it was over.

Lifa held his hand the whole way to the dock. He smiled, and laced his fingers through hers. He didn't know what it meant, but the comfort was welcoming. Lifa suddenly said, "Hey, guess what."

Koli blinked, and turned to her, "What?"

"You're getting a dragon today."

Koli was dumbstruck for a moment. Then a grin, a true blue, adorably dorky grin that was all Koli's, crossed his face. Lifa smiled back. She had missed that smile so much. Koli was naturally optimistic and dorky. The past two years had nearly destroyed that. But the smile showed there was hope for the boy yet. "You'll really help me with Dragon Training?!"

Lifa laughed, "Of course. What would you do without me?"

"Crash and burn," he laughed in return. Gods, it felt good to be able to laugh again. Lifa tugged on his hand gently, "Come on, let's get going."

Koli let her lead him back to the village by his hand. That day their friendship was finally healed.

* * *

They were fourteen when the Outcasts came again.

They took Lifa.

_They took his Pipsqueak._

Koli stormed into the Great Hall. She had been cave-exploring, looking for new stones to examine, ever the growing scientist. And then she disappeared. A note was left behind.

They wanted Chief Stoick to surrender himself and Hiccup Haddock, the heir to the tribe, and Lifa's father. Astrid Haddock, her mother, was absolutely livid and out for blood. No one else was different.

Koli certainly wasn't.

He threw the doors open and marched boldly up to the council of Vikings shouting and trying to find out what to do. "Hey!" He shouted, but went unheard.

Koli tried three times to be heard, before he finally snapped, whipped out one of his throwing knives, and a split second later, it was lodged in the wooden pillar right by Chief Stoick's head.

"I want on the mission to save her. And no one is arguing with me. I'm qualified. My dragon is a Whispering Death. I can travel _underground _to save her."

Everyone stared in shock at the thin, tall boy glowering at them, standing straight, head held high, and stormy gray eyes flashing dangerously.

Finally, they all nodded once.

Koli was outfitted for proper armor, and given one of his mother's prized swords and sent on his way.

* * *

Armor was heavy.

It fit him properly. Arm guards, gloves for his hands so he could hold his throwing knives by the blade, which helped with aim, actually, and torso armor strapped over his pale blue tunic, and even shin guards of his brown trousers. Over it all, his worn out, long black coat his mother had made for him when he got older. It only fit him now. She must have made it black, because of his name, (which meant coal-black) and his hair color.

It made flying easier, and traveling under ground less miserable. It kept the wind from biting into his skin through his clothes, and the damp, earthy air of Asmund's tunnels from chilling him to the bone.

They had arrived on Outcast island. Koli had gone underground with his dragon, Asmund, and was looking for Lifa. They were keeping her someplace else on the island. The Berk Vikings and their dragons were keeping everyone occupied. But Alvin the Treacherous wasn't anywhere to be seen. He had Lifa. Lifa, tiny, fragile, beautiful Lifa, imprisoned by the man who'd break her in two if he thought it would entertain him a little bit.

Koli shuddered. She was so much stronger now since they were kids, but she still didn't match in physical strength for normal Vikings. She didn't stand a chance, if it came down to a physical fight.

He came up inside some sort of Arena. Asmund slithered back to him, and followed him down in the tunnel leading out of the Arena. He passed dragons in cages, and his blood boiled at the sight of the neglect and mistreatment. Koli stopped at the end of the hall. Something wasn't right with the ground.

He jumped up and down, and heard the clang of metal under his boots. "Asmund, clear this up f-"

He'd barely finished before Asmund was slithering in a tight circle, like a dragon whirlwind, sending dirt flying up. It revealed an iron trap door. Koli knelt down, and slammed the butt of his sword into the lock, over and over until it broke. He hauled open the lid to a small, dark space beneath it.

Lifa was here. She was curled up with her forehead against her knees, arms wrapped over her shins, sitting stiffly. Her hair was tangled, and matted with a dark brown substance that he knew to be blood, by her right temple. He leaned down in the hole, and reached out his hand, calling quietly, "Hey, Pipsqueak."

Her head snapped up to look at him, and Koli's heart tightened painfully. Her face was bruised, on both sides, her lip split and bleeding slightly. They had beaten her. He was ready to kill. Who could ever lay a hand on her?! She was so small, and kind, and sweet and innocent...Sure, sassy to boot, and didn't know when to keep her mouth shut, but she didn't deserve to be beaten down and locked up like this. She stared at him in disbelief, "K-K-Koli?!"

"That's right. We're all here, and we're taking you home." he replied, smiling at her reassuringly. Lifa reached up with a trembling hand, and Koli grabbed her hand, pulling her up, and grasping her other arm with his other hand to pull her up and out with one swift motion. Lifa's knees buckled immediately with a cry of pain, and Koli caught her. He looked down. Her ankle is broken, clearly, bruising badly and looking very, very painful. The bone clearly wasn't set. Koli looked back at her. She was trying so hard not to cry.

"Come on, let's get out of here," he said, placing a hand on her back, but Lifa cried out in pain for the second time, jerking away from him. Koli stood there in shock, and looked at his blood-stained hand. "Oh, Gods..."

Lifa stood there, biting her lip, and leaning against the wall of the hallway leading to the prison for support. Koli stared at her, "Turn around."

"Wh-what?"

"Just turn around and let me see how bad it is." he said, more gently this time. Lifa hesitated, then turned around.

Koli wanted to kill every last Outcast. Her back was covered in angry, red, bleeding welts, no doubt from a whip or a lash of some sort. It wasn't so horrible she would lose much blood, but if it got infected, she would be so much worse off. Koli stood there, speechless. Kidnapping her was one thing. Beating her was another, and unnecessary. But _whipping _her?! That was sick, and despicable and...

"We're going home. Come on, I'll carry you. Are you cold?" Koli asked, stepping forward and in front of her. She glanced up at him, then nodded, "Y-yeah...freezing..."

"Here." he took off his coat, and put it around her shoulders, helping her to guide her arms through the sleeves. She was in shock, that much he could tell. Koli gently picked her up bridal style, and Lifa locked her arms around his neck, burying her face in his shoulder. She did not cry.

"I nearly bit Alvin the Treacherous's finger off when he tried to gag me. He got pissed at my sarcasm," she said quietly. Koli laughed, "Well, I don't think he got what he thought he'd bargained for. Way to go, Pipsqueak." he smiled, as he began to carry her outside. Asmund was making a tunnel for their escape.

"Trust me, Pipsqueak," he said, as he felt her begin to tremble, and heard the first hiccup that sobs always followed, "You'll be okay...I promise. I've got you."

"I know," she sobbed, "I-I just c-can't st-stop c-c-crying..."

He didn't blame her. But he was impressed that she remained conscious on the flight back. The battle continued to ensure their escape on Asmund, and as Koli got back to Berk, healers and warriors were waiting.

He sat with Lifa as the healer worked, holding her hand as she had to lay on her stomach when the salve was applied to the welts. Her grip tightened and she keened quietly. It burned like hell, Koli knew that. He'd had to be treated for whip injuries the day Lifa took him to the healer's when she found out about the abuse.

He stroked her hair out of her face, and murmured comforting and encouraging words when her ankle was set. She didn't scream when the bone was shoved back into place. Koli smiled, and told her she was a tough girl, and she'd smiled back at him weakly. Soon, she was all fixed up. The Healer let Koli stay with her as she slept. He changed the cloth on her forehead, helping to fend off the low fever.

After the fever broke, he settled for holding her hand, watching her face as she slept. He'd never noticed how long her eyelashes were, or the faint horizontal scar on her left cheekbone. He smiled a little bit. She would be okay. She was home, and he'd made sure of that. She'd trusted him to stay with her during the healing process, and when she fell asleep.

Lifa didn't know it, but he'd promised to protect her from that day forth. Sure, she was tough as steel, and could fight amazingly, as a genius, and could hold her own, but still...No matter how well people can protect themselves...

You still tend to worry over those you love.

* * *

_The memories flew by more quickly._

_Koli's dragon was his best friend. They were inseparable. He and Lifa grew closer. His fear and trauma of the abuse and his mother's loss ebbed away to the dullest, faintest ache of grief. He could smile and laugh, and he did so quite easily. He loved laughing with Lifa. He loved her smile, her jokes, her singing voice, the way she moved her hands a lot when she spoke, her sassy attitude, the way she braided her hair in different styles, and made her own bracelets because she loved the colorful beads...The way she'd speak her mind, and not let anyone try to silence here. The regal air she had when addressing others, her natural leadership skills, her never-ending curiosity in the new and unknown...He loved how she'd drone on and on about mechanics, and get so happy and over joyed when something she built worked, and cursed when it broke down, but went right back to trying again. He loved how she never walked if she could run, he loved how happy and excited she was every time she got a new book to read, or draw in._

_He loved her. He loved Lifa._

_And when he finally told her, she had stood there in shock. She was about to go to the Heir Welcome Ceremony, when the next heir to the tribe was recognized as worthy to begin training. She had worn a beautiful red skirt, woven with gold on the hem, (it was long enough so she had taken the advantage to go barefoot, which made him laugh) a white blouse, and a golden sash over her shoulder with the Berk crest painted on it. Golden bands encircled her wrists, and a golden circlet placed on her head, making her look all the queen she was. Her hair was braided back into a bun, and Koli knew she had done it herself. She was beautiful. She was terrified of going our there to the ceremony, one of the most important days of her life._

_Before he could stop himself, he'd said, "Quit worrying about everyone else! Who gives a damn about what they'll think? I love you, okay? You'll be fine!" _

_Terror gripped him in a vice when he realized he had told her he loved her. She'd been stunned, and it then she acted. The terror was gone when Lifa grabbed him by the front of his shirt, and boldly planted a big kiss on his lips. __(He loved how bold she was, too.) "I love you, too. Thanks, Beanpole," she whispered, before letting go, and walking out of the Great Hall, striding confidently, smiling softly, courage restored._

_They were a couple after that._

* * *

She was fifteen when the Macintosh clan attacked. It was two months after, right before the battle, he had pulled her aside, and said, "If we survive this, will you marry me? I mean, I should plan to do something good with my life if I get to keep it!" It had been more of a joke, to motivate them to fight harder. They took it more seriously than they had planned.

Lifa had grinned, and kissed him before saying, "You got yourself a promise. If we don't die, we'll spend the rest of our lives together. It's a plan!"

And then the war began. It was the battle before the truce where Koli was nearly killed.

He had slipped up, lost his grip on his sword, and before he knew it, there was a knife in his side, being stabbed into his rib cage, and yanked out with incredible speed and strength. He'd hit the ground, choking, and lost his breath again with a boot slammed into his chest, again and again. He didn't know when the attacker was fended off, but he felt himself be lifted up, and carried off of the battle field as he coughed violently, blood welling in his throat, spilling over his lips.

Lifa came, and held his hand, ordering him not to die. He'd smirked at her before blacking out.

The first time he came too, he was in pain. He screamed out loud, and thrashed against the hands holding him in place. Someone shouted, "Hold him still! I can't finish the stitches if he's moving!" The pain stabbed into his side, and pulled at his skin, before slicing through it once more. Prick, pain, pull, _agony, _and repeat. He choked, and tried to speak, but his tongue was sticking to the roof of his mouth, which was so dry, and tasted like salt and copper. It was disgusting.

He'd blacked out shortly after.

The next time he came too, he was freezing. His entire body was racked with chills, but he was drenched in sweat. Someone brushed his soaked bangs back from his forehead, leaned down, and kissing his cheek gently. They placed a cold cloth against his forehead, and he welcomed the soothing coolness. The person held his hand. Their hand was small, slender, but the skin was calloused from what he knew to be a workshop...

"L-Lif..." he began to slur. She shushed him, leaning down, and stroking his hair, "Y-you're gonna be okay," she whispered, "I promise. The war is over...we made a truce."

Koli felt a smile pull at his dry lips, making them crack painfully. That was amazing!

But then a drop of wetness fell against his cheek, and his smile vanished. Why was Lifa crying? She was sobbing silently. "It's over," she cried, "It's all over, Koli...I-I'm sorry..."

He stared at her with wide gray eyes, glassy with fever, but confused all the same. She wiped her eyes, and sobbed again, "We're n-not getting m-married...I'm sorry, I'm sorry...I love you, Beanpole."

He was confused, and reached up with a shaking hand, placing it against her cheek, wiping away a tear with his thumb. She held his hand, and sat there, tears streaming down her face. "I love you so much," she repeated. "I'm so sorry..."

Koli felt the darkness pulling at him again, consciousness slipping away. He fought it viciously. Why was Lifa crying?! What was so horrible that she was apologizing for?!

Lifa leaned down, pressing a kiss against his lips, and he kissed her back, because he had a horrible feeling it would be the last time he ever could. Her tears fell against his own face, before she pulled back, and replaced the cold cloth against his forehead again.

Then darkness took him again.

* * *

Lifa was gone. She had been married off to some Scottish prince in Clan Macintosh to create peace between the tribes. One year later, she was dead.

Koli hated it all. He missed her, every second. It hurt more than anything else in the world. He wished he had died when he'd been stabbed that day. He didn't have much to live for anymore.

Asmund was killed in the battle he was injured in. His mother was dead. His friends were dead, struck down in battle. Chief Stoick was dead, and that hurt, because the man had not hesitated to banish Koli's father and assure Koli was well taken cared of. Lifa had been horribly grief-stricken when he had died. He was her grandfather. Koli had never known his own, but he knew the pain of a lost family member. He had held Lifa as she cried her heart out, and pleaded for him to be brought back, and Koli had held her hand at the funeral. He helped her through her loss.

Now he had lost everything.

Koli sat on the rocks of the cove where he and Lifa had spent so much of their time. He had brought skipping rocks with him, but didn't have the energy or the heart to try and skip any. It was no fun without Lifa there to win like she always did. He stared at the water. He had taught her to swim here. She had been frustrated, and scared, but she had let him coax her through the lesson.

He was never going to see her again. He had seen her on the battle field, defending against Outcasts. He had been held back by others when he saw her father cradling her bloodied, dead form in his arms, crying over his lost daughter. Koli had struggled, screamed, cursed and even begged to be let go, to let him help her, but she was already gone.

He had been too late. He hadn't protected her. She had always protected him. She had always been there, never given up on him, never turned her back when he needed help and didn't deserve it. She'd loved him, taken him as all he was, with his flaws, his fears, his grieved and broken self, and put him back together, and brought his smile back to his face. She made him laugh again, and helped him stand up to the man who he had feared most. The man who beat him until his bones broke, whipped him until he lost consciousness, knocked him to the ground so hard he could not breathe for several minutes and then kicked him just after he caught his breath, only to knock it out of him again, and finally broke his will. Because of Lifa, He was able to stand up for himself again, and banish that horrible man from his life. She had trusted him to protect her, and asked nothing in return for all she had given him, not once, and he had failed to keep her safe, his Pipsqueak, the girl he loved, his best friend in the whole world, _he had let her die._

She was gone forever.

Koli couldn't cry anymore. He'd destroyed everything in sight that he could the first few days. Then he broke down, screamed at the gods, and cursed them until his voice was gone. And he didn't sleep or eat for days and days. No one could convince him to take care of himself, because he didn't think he deserved it. He finally broke down the day before, and cried for hours and hours. Now he was drained to a dry husk, no tears or curses to the world left in him.

"I could bring her back."

Koli whipped around, but saw no one, no source to the voice. He reached down to his boot, but found his knife not there.

"I'm behind you. Look through the corner of your eye. Can't see me unless you do," the voice whispered. It was deep, rough and hoarse, with an accent Koli couldn't place. Koli turned around slowly, looking through the corner of his eye.

He didn't scream, or feel fear at the misshaped form of a man, entirely of darkness, with silver eyes, and blood spattered robes. He smelled like rotting and burning flesh, blood and sulfur. He felt no fear. Even his feelings were dried up to nothing.

"You can't bring her back. She's dead. If you're going to kill me, fine..." Koli said.

The man smiled, showing blacked, rotting and pointed teeth, "I am a god, boy. I can help you bring back your beloved Pipsqueak, and even your mother. All I need is a single favor."

Koli felt tears prick his eyes. He had done his grieving. Was this a joke? To be given this chance? He would just wake up, and find out he had still lost everything he'd loved in this world.

The man hissed, "I won't kill you, boy. I am immortal, with powers you can't comprehend. Powers over minds, and even death! I just require one thing from you, and I can bring back all you love, and end their suffering and yours."

Koli hesitated, before whispering brokenly, "I don't care what happens to me. Just bring them back...you can have whatever you want...Bring them back, safe and sound...I'll do anything."

"Anything? You have to mean that, boy, when you say anything, you will give ever-"

"I MEAN EVERYTHING, DON'T MAKE ME REPEAT MYSELF!" Koli exploded.

"Thank you, boy. I needed a new body. Yours will suffice well enough." the man smiled evilly, before turning to black smoke, and engulfing Koli.

Koli didn't have time to respond before he hit the ground with a dull thud. Oh gods, his blood was on _fire_. Everything burned, hurt, and bruised. He was being torn to shreds from the inside, burned alive, whatever the hell was happening, _everything hurt!_

There was an unwelcome presence inside him, another conscious forcing dominance in his mind. Koli heard a horrible, high pitched shrieking somewhere far away, and realized it was his own voice expressing his agony.

And soon, it was over. He lay there, his chest heaving, tears streaming down his face, tears he didn't know he had.

"Deimos." he muttered. "Where...?"

But Koli didn't hear his voice or feel his lips move. He felt imprisoned, locked away, cut off from the world. And then he realized, he knew that man's, that _god's _name because he was in Koli's head. He was in Koli's body.

Koli disappeared that day. They found the remains of a person in the bottom of the lake some months later. It had been Deimos's previous vessel, but they had assumed it was Koli. They had assumed Koli had drowned himself, unable to deal with his grief anymore. They mourned for the dorky, tall, awkward, skinny boy who was the first ever to ride a Whispering Death. The boy who suffered so much, and asked for so little, who made others smile, looked after the children of the village whenever he got the chance because he himself loved children. He had been training to become a healer. Everyone loved him. He'd loved animals, and hadn't feared a single one of them. He'd walk through the village, and kids would run up to him, asking them to play with them, or their dragons, or to tell them the story of how he trained his Whispering Death. He'd smile, and laugh. They had said he would have been an amazing father. Lifa would have been a wonderful mother, and Koli had loved her more than life itself, no doubt any children they would grow up to have would ever feel unloved or unprotected.

Koli could have made a wonderful Guardian, had Deimos never come into his life and tempered with his fate.

* * *

Jack jolted out of the memories, gasping. His head was pounding painfully. Jack blinked rapidly, realizing his face was wet. Was he...?

He was. He was crying freely. Koli had loved Sunshine, and suffered so much, and yet, he never turned bad for it. Lifa, even though he hadn't seen her side of the story, had loved him just as much.

And his mother...Jack couldn't imagine the loss of his own at a young age, let alone slaughtered in a raid of his home town. And as a child...But Koli hadn't just suffered. He'd smiled, laughed, loved, and adventured with his friends. He'd protected his village, had a career as a successful healer ahead of him, marriage, and children...He would have been a wonderful father, but it wasn't to be, and that wasn't fair.

That was taken away. Koli didn't deserve any more suffering. Jack looked up at the boy, and was shocked to see tears running down his face as well.

Koli reached up with his hand, and wiped his eyes, "What the hell am I crying for...? C-can't remember..."

Jack stared at him. He couldn't recall anything, but yet the pain remained. Jack felt his blood boil. No one deserved this. And Deimos took _pleasure _in torturing the boy. Koli stared at Jack, "What are you crying about?"

Jack looked up at him, and whispered hoarsely, "I'm sorry...I'm so sorry, Koli, I didn't know...I'm sorry..."

Koli glared at him as Jack apologized over and over, having no other words. The boy went back to his position of hugging his knees to his chest, putting his back against the wall, and glowering at Jack. "I don't need your pity," he snarled.

Jack fell silent. Koli was right, he didn't need pity, he needed help. Jack couldn't find words.

Luckily, he didn't need to, because Bunny burst into the room, shouting in Gaelic, making Koli flinch, and cover his head with his arms instinctively, and Jack fell out of his chair.

"English!" Jack finally said after Bunny kept rambling. The Pooka stopped, realizing he wasn't speaking in a language Jack could understand, and took a deep breath, finally switching to English. Jack felt his heart stop, and his emotions go hay wire at the next three words. Koli felt his head seemingly explode from what they triggered in his fogged memory.

Bunny finally got the words out.

_"Lifa is awake."_

* * *

**A/N OH MY GOD I'M SORRY I SHOULD HAVE UPDATED, SCHOOL GOT HECTIC, I GOT GROUNDED FROM MY LAPTOP!**

**But it's summer vacation now, and I shall update more!**

**Really, Koli's character has a lot more of developing to do, he's actually an optimistic, dorky sweet heart and needs more development, but I'll get there. Prepare for a Frostburn shocker in the next chapter. I'm sorry that this chapter wasn't the best, it was mostly a filler. But the story will pick up again, I promise. **

**Au Revoir, Mon Amis!**


	50. Chapter 50

The words didn't register at first, for Jack. He didn't believe them. He'd been so caught up in the situation of waiting to hear them, that now that they were finally being said in confidence, he just sat there in dumbstruck silence.

Koli, however, spoke up. His demeanor completely changed. The defensive anger melted away to fear, and cautious hope. "Lifa? She's here?"

"Yeah, uh...sorry. Listen, Jack, before you-" Bunny began, but Jack was already darting past him, through the door, "Jack, stop! You don't understand, she's not-"

Bunny grabbed his hood, pulling Jack back. "Frostbite, listen to me! You can't go in yet...She's in a little bit of shock. Give her time to wake up completely!"

"Bunny, I have been scared out of my mind for over two months, I'm going in, LET GO."

"I get you're worried but I'm pretty sure I'm the most qualified here to say whether or not she's ready to have a noisy Guardian of Fun yelling questions at her and whatnot."

"I...I don't yell..." Jack faltered, frowning.

Koli muttered under his breath, "Actually, you're pretty obnoxious, come to think of it."

"You're on thin ice with me, don't push it." Jack snapped.

"Thin ice? Was that a pun?" Bunny pushed Jack back into the room with Koli. Jack scowled, "NO! Stop changing the subject!"

"Fine, back to the Lifa problem. She just woke up, and I need to check and make sure she's alright. Her mind is together and all, not extended damage we couldn't find when she was unconscious, and whatnot. Whereas you are supposed to be taking care of him." Bunny pointed at Koli, who began to protest that he didn't need any taking care of, thank you very much.

Jack wasn't any happier, "He's not a little kid, I don't have to nanny him!"

"He can barely sit up on his own, so yes, you do. There's a pot of soup on the stove, maybe he can keep that down, go and get him a bowl." Bunny ordered, stepping aside to let Jack through the door.

Jack would have protested, but he glanced at Koli. It broke his heart all over again. Koli was a little green in the face, shaking his head, mumbling under his breath. When a person hasn't eaten in so long, and when they had eaten, the food as no good, even the thought of eating made their stomach turn over and make them feel nauseated. That just shows how sick and weak their body had become. Koli was thinner than Jack, which was saying something.

"Okay. I'll be back in a few minutes," Jack said. "Koli, lay back down before you fall over."

When Bunny and Jack left the room, Jack closed the door behind them. "I saw his memories."

Bunny was quiet for a while, waiting for Jack to continue. When he didn't, he sighed, rubbing his eyes tiredly, "They weren't happy ones, were they?"

"No. His life was hell. It was horrible. He lost everything, and suffered over and over, and the worst part? Maybe it would have been easier to watch if he had been less than a decent person. But this guy is more than decent. He's got a good heart. And it's been trampled all over and torn up, and that's just not fair."

"A lot of things aren't fair, Jack. The best of people have the worst luck."

"I know. But what do we do?"

"What do ya mean?"

"We have to help him. He deserves that much."

"And what good will that do him? Deimos is still in his head, he'll just put Koli back to square one within a few months."

"So we get rid of Deimos!"

"We can't."

"Why not?"

"Well, we can."

"Okay, how?"

"We just can't do it without a sacrifice."

"And that would be...?"

"Koli." was Bunny's dead panned answer. Jack was stunned for a moment, before asking, "You mean we can't kill Deimos without killing Koli."

"That's right." Bunny nodded grimly.

"Why are you so calm about this?!"

"Because I've already been thinking about it, that's why. And honestly, I think we should just do it."

"WHAT?!" Jack exploded, "WE CAN'T! HE'LL DIE! HE HAS HIS OWN LIFE TO LIVE!"

"His life is OVER, Jack. There's nothing left of him to put back together! Killing him and Deimos would be a mercy! His body and mind are DONE. They need rest. He's run his course, it should have ended centuries ago. There is no answer to this problem, Jack! It's either we abandon him and let Deimos off scot-free, or we just end it."

"Who says you can make that decision?!" Jack demanded, stepped forward threateningly, "You may be one of the adults, Bunny, but you can't decide who lives and who doesn't!"

Bunny stepped back a little bit, before glaring at Jack and leaning forward, pushing the teenager back, "I'm not making the decision. It's not a situation where you can! We don't have a choice. We have to stop Deimos. If we destroy his vessel, then he's vulnerable. It's our only chance, Jack. It's the world's only chance. The least we can do is make sure he's comfortable, and be as kind to him as possible. He hasn't seen kindness shown to him in a long time."

"But it's...it's not _fair." _Jack almost whispered, not wanting to believe it. Bunny sighed, placing a paw on his shoulder and guiding him towards the kitchen.

"Nothing is, Jackie. I'm sorry. But nothing ever is."

* * *

_That was a cheap move. Showing him those memories._

Koli pulled the blanket up to his shoulder. It was soft and warm. Comforting. He had barely slept for years, he should have died from exhaustion long ago. But he didn't. The comfort of a real bed was foreign. And it did little to help him ignore Deimos's voice.

_Fake memories. I tried to show him the real ones. You showed him fake ones. Why would you do that?_

"To mislead him." Koli whispered, before pulling the blanket over his head, as if a turtle ducking into his shell. "He loves her."

_So you think making him believe that she loves you instead, and you love her would save him from some hurt. _

"I would have had to do that if you hadn't done what you did to her mind! You don't need to manipulate the Guardians. They protect children, targeting them is...wrong."

_You certainly have some new spirit. _

"My best friend is alive, which means she can kick my ass if I just lay here and let you do whatever you want for another second."

Koli flinched as he heard Deimos laughing again. He always laughed. At him. At Lifa.

But his plan had to work. He had to convince Jack he had been engaged to Lifa. And if that rabbit man _thing _whatever he was thought so, the better. The ring was fake. The memories, most of them, were fake. Yes, his father beat him. But what he had said in the memory he'd shown Jack wasn't what he'd really said. The memories of his mother were purely true.

If he had to talk about his relationship to Lifa, yes. They were best friends. Since a very young age. She was like his little sister, and he did love her, but not the way he'd shown in the memories. It made him uncomfortable, doing that, it felt _wrong _but to hell with his feelings. Trying to cut off Jack's feelings for her were important.

He didn't want to do it. He didn't know Jack, but he'd always been a good judge of people. Jack was a good guy. But Lifa, as much as he didn't want to say bad things about her, was harsh. She was brutal. Cold and calculating. Inside, she was compassionate, loyal, and selfless. But she didn't fall in love with people. It wasn't her style, and not her way of prioritizing. Getting the job done, so to speak, was how she 'rolled'.

Deimos had made her go completely against the way she lived, just to manipulate Jack.

He felt bad for him.

He felt bad for everyone Deimos hurt.

Koli heard the door open, and the temperature in the room drop a little. Jack was back. He could smell food. It was broth, for chicken soup. Probably only had some vegetables or rice in it, because he knew his stomach couldn't handle much. It was probably shrunken to the size of a large apple.

"Koli? Are you sleeping?" he heard Jack ask quietly.

Koli responded by pulling the blanket down a bit so it didn't cover his head anymore. "No...sorry, by the way."

"Sorry about what?" Jack asked, setting the tray on the bedside table and already moving to help Koli sit up, propping him up with pillows.

Koli accepted the help, since Jack wouldn't accept any arguments anyway. "That you have to take care of me. I'm practically a grown man, I should be able to do it myself."

"You're not 'practically a grown man', you're the same age as me. Seventeen, right?" Jack picked up the bowl and handed it to Koli, who took it with shaky hands. "You're still a kid."

"No. I'm not still a kid, and neither are you."

"Yes, I am! I'm like freaking Peter Pan! Forever young!"

"Well, 'Freaking Peter Pan', you don't look like a kid to me, and-"

Koli was cut off when Jack shoved a soup-filled spoon into his mouth, "You need to loosen up. Don't talk with your mouth full," he said, laughing a bit as Koli's face contorted in shock.

Then he felt bad after Koli swallowed the soup and immediately lurched forward, retching and gagging. Jack had forgotten he might not be able to keep any food down. Jack apologized quietly, before reaching out and rubbing circles in Koli's back, "Try not to let it come back up, okay? The more you eat, the better."

"St-still feel-" he coughed, "Like shit."

"Your stomach hurts, huh?" Jack plunked down on the bed next to Koli, who scooted away immediately. Jack seemed unaware of the fact Koli preferred personal space greatly. Koli blinked, and nodded, "Yeah...hunger pains...Deimos doesn't need to eat. I do, but as long as I'm his vessel, I can't die."

"So...he doesn't let you eat."

"Or sleep."

"I take it you haven't washed up in a while, either?"

"Was that a joke?"

"Sort of."

"Not funny."

"Aw, come on..."

"Sorry. I don't laugh easily. Don't take it personally." Koli apologized, while Jack took the bowl of soup from him and stirred it around, watching rice swirl in the little whirl pool. "Laughing is good for you, Koli. Don't you know that?"

"Uhm...yeah. My mother said that to me once." Koli admitted.

The two boys sat quietly for a while, before Jack held out the spoon and bowl to Koli, who took it, and actually took another spoonful. He grimaced, swallowed several times, but he kept it down. Jack guessed he was probably one of those kids who'd been a little angel to babysit. Koli tried to be cooperative. He tried not to trouble Jack.

"What was she like?" Jack asked suddenly.

Koli put the spoon back in the bowl, "Huh? Who?"

"Your mother."

Koli muttered a quiet, "Oh," in response. He fell silent for a while. His mother. Lifa was his best friend, but his mother had been his first and foremost. She was the only person he could remember more than Lifa. Or his father. She was the most significant. How did he begin to explain that?

"She was a healer," he began, while Jack sat quietly, listening earnestly. "And, uhm...Wiccan. We were Wiccans. I'm still Wiccan. So it goes without saying we could use magic. Mum used it to make her remedies and medicines more effective. But she never let me use my magic. At least not when others could see."

"Why not?" Jack asked.

Koli struggled to find the words, "It was...destructive. Everyone's magic has a certain...style. Color. Use. Tendencies. Aggression, gentility. Yours would probably be blue. And artistic. Difficult to control, probably not meant to be dominated, it's the kind that works best in harmony with something else."

"How the heck do you observe that? What's your thought process?"

Koli shrugged, "Your eyes are blue. And you're a winter spirit. Your personality sort of sealed the rest."

"Well, you're right about the harmony thing."

"Oh?"

"Winter spirit, remember? The wind."

"Makes sense."

"Alright, enough about my magic. You were talking about yours?"

Koli sighed, "Yeah. It's purple. And highly erratic. It can't be controlled. It doesn't listen to me. If I get a spark of it going, it just tears through everything like a whirlwind. It just...destroys. Which never made sense to me or Mum, I'm not a violent person at all."

"I believe that," Jack said quietly.

Koli didn't answer that, "But she was the kindest woman. And didn't let anyone tell her what she could or couldn't do. Seriously, if someone messed with me as a kid, ever, she pulled a sword on them. Which was acceptable, given we were living with Vikings. And when you're half Scottish, even adults tend to pick on you."

"That's terrible!"

"Eh, I got used to it. Mum actually gave me permission to curse at them."

"...No."

"Yes."

"But she's your mother, she's supposed to teach you foul language is bad!"

"Well, she swore like- what's the saying? A truck driver. Although, she said I could use two curse words, and it was one occasion. It didn't go as she told me it would."

"Oh, boy."

"Oh boy indeed. Well, I said a lot more than two curse words. I may have insulted someone's mother. Several times. And when I got home, Mum was _livid. _She told me, "I said you could say two curse words! You said thirty six!" Needless to say, I couldn't sit right for a week."

"Sit right...? Oh my God."

"Don't say it. It's humiliating enough."

Jack was already dissolving into a mess of snickers and giggles, while Koli glared daggers at him, "It was not a pleasant experience for a seven year old, you ass!"

Jack just laughed louder, "Cursing again? I have a mother figure of my own, I can go and ge-"

"I may not be violent, but you're asking to get punched in the face right now!"

"Alright, alright," Jack stopped laughing. Then he pointed at Koli, "Hey, would ya look at that?"

"What?"

"You're smiling! I got you to smile."

Koli immediately covered his mouth with his hand, mumbling, "No, you didn't."

"Guardian of Fun, remember? Smiles are what I do. And you needed one."

"Okay, fine, I smiled. Happy?"

"Ecstatic," Jack grinned, before tapping the bowl of soup, "Try to finish this, okay? And get some sleep. Deimos won't be bothering you for a while. Make the best of it, you deserve it."

Jack stood up, "I'll be back soon, okay? Holler if you need me."

Jack closed the door behind him, while Koli sat and obediently ate the soup. It was becoming easier. The gag reflex was more bearable. And the soup tasted good. Better than anything he'd had in years. Considering the last time he ate was seven months ago, and it had been a somewhat rotten peach. It'd only done enough to ease the hunger pains.

He would finish the whole thing, even if it made him feel sick and his stomach hurt horribly. Jack had asked him to. Jack worried about him. Everyone in this house worried about him, but why? He'd let Deimos hurt them. He didn't deserve their kindness. Jack thought so, apparently. When the bowl was empty, Koli set it down on the tray on the night stand, before laying back down and closing his eyes, unconsciousness already calling.

_Make the best of it. You deserve it._

He didn't dream that night. But the nightmares didn't come.

* * *

Jack finally stepped into Lifa's room. It was dimly lit and quiet, trying to keep the activity at a low, to not stress her out. Bunny was setting a tea tray down on the night stand, Tooth, North and Sandy weren't here yet. North had been trying to catch up on Christmas preparations, Sandy and Tooth working overtime on their jobs. Bunny and Jack were the only ones who actually had some free time. Jack wasn't the only winter spirit in the world, and he only covered the west hemisphere, which wasn't winter yet. Easter was several months ago, and Bunny did in fact deal with perishables, so he had to start working just days before his holiday.

Good. Lifa was their priority.

Jack stood in the door way for a while, watching Bunny go through the basic health check. Lifa was propped up in pillows, the I.V no longer connected to her arm. She was still pale, but not as much as before. Tired, yes. Her hair was messy, needed to be brushed, hastily pulled over one shoulder in attempt to make it look neat. Her freckles stood out more against her now paler complexion. Bunny had a paw under her chin and was shining a small flashlight into her golden eyes.

It was wonderful to see her eyes again.

Jack finally stepped in the room when Bunny stepped back, saying, "Alright, Sunburn, no brain damage. You're the picture of good health. Looks like your powers did a full healing sweep on you the whole time you were out."

"That was why I was out. I have to be asleep for a full healing process." was her curt answer. She didn't even look at Jack. "And another thing, Bunny. I needed a cleansing. There was darkness in my mind. I'm curious. How did that get there?"

Jack stopped. Didn't Bunny's deal with Deimos, to limit his powers, mean that the darkness should have been taken out entirely?

"Uh, well...You sort had a run in with the enemy?" Bunny attempted, as Lifa's expression darkened unhappily. "But I guess you're fine now. Hey, look. Jackie's here."

"Jackie?" Lifa frowned.

Jack chuckled, walking over and sitting on the edge of the bed, "His nickname for me, he's got a nickname for everyone. Sometimes more than one." he smiled. He was practically beaming at her, resisting the urge to smother her in a hug. Lifa was looking at him weirdly, though. Like she wasn't sure what to make of him. Jack hesitated, before placing his hand over her's, "So...you're okay? You scared me pretty bad."

Jack felt a pang through his chest, unexpected, unwelcome, when Lifa pulled her hand away from his, "Uhm...I'm sorry?"

"Sorry? You saved my life, I'm not asking you to apolo-" Jack began, but Lifa shook her head, cutting him off.

"No, I mean, I'm sorry, I don't know what you're talking about. Who are you?"

Jack stopped breathing. Bunny stopped moving. Lifa looked at them both, "What? You guys are like deer in the headlights, what's wrong with you?"

Jack couldn't answer. He forgot how to breathe, how to speak, all he could hear was his heart thudding like a hammer against cloth, too loud in his ears. Bunny said something, placed a paw on his shoulder, but Jack didn't respond.

_"Who are you?" _She'd asked, so calmly. As if uncaring.

Jack didn't like this feeling, he did not one bit, this horrible stabbing pain in his chest. If one could live with a shard of ice in their heart, he knew what it felt like, and it was as if he couldn't welcome the cold anymore. He wanted this to not be real. Bunny kept trying to get his attention, Lifa sat there bewildered, but Jack remained in his state of hurt shock, because...

Lifa didn't remember him.

* * *

**A/N I am sorry for the cliff hanger, but the next chapter will clear up why this is happening. So I noticed that I actually started writing against Lifa's actual character traits and personality, she's not a romantic type at all, so now I have to fix that, but don't worry, Frostburn might not be dead yet.**

**It probably is, but eh, you guys keep hoping.**

**So yes. I haven't updated in forever. Things at home this summer are not good. Not sure if you guys know this or not, but my sister is seriously bipolar and it is BAD, she's been hospitalized. Again.**

**So I'll try to update soon again, get more of Koli's character in. Koli is a sneaky guy, he was trying to help Jack out. He knew Lifa wasn't going to remember him, so he manipulated the memories to make Jack believe Lifa already loved someone else. Koli is forever trying to foil Deimos' plans. Anyway, things are going to get steadily darker in this fic, especially for Koli, because Koli has faced a lot of abuse, and that'll come up later.**

**Koli is a seriously big character to this story, you guys will be seeing a lot of him. And you will see a huge relationship change with Jack and Lifa. Lifa could be considered almost bitchy towards him. **

**Don't worry. You guys get to explore her character all over again, her REAL character, I just keep jerking you guys around, huh?**

**Magiccatprincess said I was pretty brutal with my writing (ex: Lifa losing her arm, and it is NOT coming back) Whelp, she's right.**

**Adios, mi compadres.**

**P.S my tumblr is now a roleplay blog for Lifa and Koli, as well as a villain and character appearing in the planned sequel to this story. **


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